What loving our neighbours means - My stay in hospital (2)

When admitted to the ward well after midnight, I was aware of the presence of a roommate hidden behind a drawn curtain.  

Before daybreak, I heard people talking. It was an old woman’s voice asking to have the diaper changed. So, my roommate was bedridden. I admit, not without a sense of shame now, taking delight in the thought of having the bathroom all for myself, not realizing the high cost entailed. 

With limited mobility, the old lady had a small portable toilet by her bedside, which she would use for defecating. That was the time when I had to wait in the parlour, still attached to an IV tube, until the room was deodorized. It was a long wait despite the availability of a room air- purifier. And this could happen twice a day. I could not help complaining inwardly why she would not use the diaper instead. And, unfortunately, her bowel movements were her most favourite topic, which she would share with everyone of her visitors. Imagine how much this could spoil my appetite if it happened when I was supposed to be enjoying my meal! 

With the pain gradually lessening, however, I found the old lady less troublesome. In fact, she had apologized to me repeatedly for having made the room smelly. She had chosen to use the portable toilet to avoid adding to the trouble of the nurses, who would, otherwise, have to deal with increased messiness of the diaper. And her frequent mentioning of her bowel movements was due to her regret about causing too much trouble to people around her, including me. 

In my Sunday school teaching I have often talked about Jesus’ advice on loving our neighbours as we love ourselves. Who are our neighbours? How should we love our neighbours? I understand that the first step towards loving someone is to put ourselves in his shoes. Without feeling sympathetic about his needs, how can we even talk about loving him? Here is a case to which the truth of the saying can apply so appropriately. The old lady, my roommate, was my neighbour both literally and factually. I became more tolerant of her needs. I could have been a more difficult patient if I had been in her place.

So in the later days, I talked more with her, trying to relieve her of her uneasiness about her bowel problems. And I mentioned her needs in my daily prayer. Her daughter, who came three times a day to bring her meals, asked me to talk to her about Jesus. (She had found me listening to sermons online and decided that I was a Christian.) The old lady, a Buddhist herself, was happy about the idea. She was discharged two days before I was. When I said goodbye to her at the lobby, she promised to pray for me to her Guanyin (觀音). 

Thank you, Lord, for inspiring me with this life experience. With this, I believe I can more easily convince my Sunday school students that loving our neighbours can be a very simple thing we can do in our daily lives.