Boyce Mouton wrote the following story when he ministered in California many years ago. It took my breath away.
"In 1954, a young missionary recruit to Alaska was stricken with a paralytic disease which left her bedfast for the last 10 years of her life. Her name was Marie Napier.
The first time I met Marie was in her home in Sunnyvale, CA. As I stepped into the front room, I immediately discerned the sickening pulsation of her breathing machine. It was a rocking bed, the first one I had ever seen. The bed, patient and all, was rocking back and forth in large gyrations.
Marie was emaciated and pale. She had not moved in over five years. I awkwardly tried not to stare at her shriveled body.
I clumsily looked at my feet to conceal the expression of shock on my face. I raised my eyes to concentrate on her face, and there I saw a broad and understanding smile.
Gradually, I grew more comfortable in her presence and we began to talk. It was evident that even a simple conversation was a difficult task for Marie. She timed her words to coincide with the proper movement of the bed and spoke in short sentences. When I left there that day I walked with an invigorated step. I had been exposed to a contagious mixture of warmth and courage.
I visited Marie on other occasions and each time I found the same emotion when I left. I had come to give, but I had left receiving.
The last time I saw Marie before her death was in the Santa Clara County Hospital in San Jose, CA. A power failure had stopped the rhythm of her bed, and by the time she arrived at the hospital the flame of her life was burning very low. I came the next day for scripture and prayer. The pulsing collar of the iron lung had left her neck chaffed and raw.
The doctor had given her a brief respite from the painful lung to a less efficient device that did not hurt her neck. It was a 'breathing shell', which was placed across her torso. As I stepped to her side she looked up with tired eyes. A faint smile broke out on her face and she gasped, 'I'm so thankful for my shell.'
2020 has been a challenging year, and as I read this story, I felt shame for all the times that I have complained to God about the mere trivial things of life that bother me. What a witness this woman gave as she chose to be thankful for what she did have, instead of concentrating on what she didn't.
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess his name." Hebrews 13:5
