"Help!...Help!..."

As a pastor I made numerous calls to hospitals and nursing homes and had occasionally heard a resident cry out "Help!" It was a pitiful plea for attention. But recently following hip replacement surgery at our local hospital and being moved to a nursing home for a few days of rehab I heard it again in the wee hours. The cry for help was answered quickly by the staff, but it set me to thinking about the true condition of the human race. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden there has been one constant outcry for spiritual or physical relief from the results of sin. We read in Romans chapter 8, verse 22, "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now!" I had some anxious moments both in the hospital and then in the nursing facility, but the staff was so good to answer cheerfully my "help!" I praise and thank the Lord for those who prayed and continue to pray for me and Mary K through this special time of need. As this is written, I am in home healthcare and the therapists tell us I am doing well, walking with a cane and gaining strength. A young man named "Daya" got me started in the nursing home and we are grateful for him and those who continue to help me recover. We are thankful, too, for our skilled surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses and aids and all who have given us encouragement along the way such as our pastors and Christian friends. One shared Psalm 50:15 with us before surgery: "And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me!" God keeps His promise for present crises and, beyond that, HELP for eternity -- "even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body!" (Romans 8:23). For the Christian, one day soon the "Help!" will turn into "Hallelujah!"