Francis and his wife Mary lived in a house around the corner, but their lot is larger and extended behind ours. Our back yard was small with the garage attached behind the house. This left little room for the growing boys to play. I built them a play structure with a sandbox at the bottom and a climbing “fort” above it with an attached swing set, but it was crowded in that backyard.
I am sure that Francis and Mary were amused to see my three rambunctious boys playing in our yard. One day Francis approached me and suggested that I put in a gate in the chain link fence that separated our yards so that the boys could also use their roomier space. I eventually also put a small garden in their back yard.
Francis loved our boys, and he took special pleasure in taking a walk in front of our house at 7:00 pm as we said our evening prayers in the front porch. In the spring and summer our windows would be open and I would watch as Francis would slow down as he walked by our place as we said our prayers. I invited him to join us a couple of times, but he =demurred, saying that it was enough to listen to us pray our evening devotions.
Over time I noticed that Francis became more frail and his evening walks were not as regular. He had developed heart disease and it was sapping his vigor.
One summer day I was weeding my little garden when I heard a commotion from Francis and Mary’s house. Then I heard Mary shout, “Tony, come here!”
I entered their house to find Francis, his feet in a medicinal bath, but what alarmed me was that he was bleeding severely out of his right foot. His arterial walls had become very thin and an artery burst in his ankle.
I immediately got a towel and made a tourniquet for his leg to stop the bleeding. The situation appeared so serious that I dismissed calling an ambulance. The hospital was only five minutes away. I would drive Francis there.
I had Mary open the car door as I carried Francis to the passenger seat. with the tourniquet still wrapped on his leg. The bleeding had slowed down and Francis was still lucid, but weak.
I got in the drivers seat and pointed the car to the hospital. I said, “Francis, let’s pray the Lord’s Prayer.”
“Yes, please!” he agreed.
So I prayed the Lord’s Prayer with him as we drove to the hospital. I could hear his voice getting weaker as we prayed. As we pulled into the emergency entrance, we were praying, “And Deliver us from evil.” as Francis went limp in the passenger seat, his prayer unfinished.
I pulled into an ambulance bay and an attendant came running out, “You can’t park there!” he exclaimed.
I got out of the car and shouted, “I have a sick man here. Get the doctor!” The attendant opened the passenger door as Francis sat there, limp and unconscious. Two more attendants came out with a gurney and placed his limp body on it. They raced back into the door and disappeared down the hall. I parked the care in a regular spot.
My wife brought Mary to the waiting room as I sat there. Some time later a doctor came out, removing his mask. He spoke to Mary, “Your husband is alive, thanks to your quick action. He was minutes away from death.”
Francis spent several weeks in ICU, then they transferred him to General Hospital for recovery. I went to visit him there.
As I greeted him I brought my Bible with me and turned to Psalm 23:
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;[a]
3 he restores my soul.[b]
He leads me in right paths[c]
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d]
I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely[e] goodness and mercy[f] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.[g]
Francis smiled, as if he approved. I turned to another psalm and started reading.
“Shut up, Tony” he said. “I just want to gaze at the man dressed in white who walked in the room with you.”
Francis’ face was raptured.
I looked around me.
No one else was there but the two of us.
Or rather, I did not see the Man dressed in white clothes. However, there was a warmth in the room that I could perceive. I remained silent and sat down in the chair next to Francis’ bed. Soon his eyes closed. He was asleep.
Francis died a few weeks later, prepared to see his Shepherd again.
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