Praying with your phlebotomist

This morning I went for my monthly blood test at the hospital. I go there because there’s no co-pay and no hassle waiting at the doctor’s office. I showed up a little later than usual and so missed the opening rush at the lab.

A phlebotomist that I had not seen before called me back to the bloodletting room. I wished her a happy new year, but she remarked that her year was not off to a good start, and something told me that there was a special sadness about her, so I took the plunge:
“Do I need to add you to my prayer list?” I asked her.

She responded that yes, that would be good. She wondered what church I was affiliated with and I told her. She asked if I was a deacon or a priest or something and I said no, nothing like that.

We went through the mechanics of the blood draw and as she finished, she said, “Can I ask you something?” and then posed this painful question: “What makes a man, separated from his wife, think he can sleep with another woman and that there is nothing wrong with that?”

I suspected she was talking about her own husband, but I didn’t explore that. All I could think of to say was that it was a selfish act of someone who had forgotten the place of God in his life. She considered that thoughtfully and allowed that that could be so.

Finally, as I was about to get up from the chair and leave, I was struck by how much pain she was obviously suffering. She had remarked earlier that this was a new job for her and even though she was so sad, she could not afford to make a bad impression on her new employer by calling off sick.

I took both her hands in mine and prayed with her briefly. Oddly, we were the only people in a normally bustling lab. So, I don’t know if I did any good, but I’m glad she confided in me and she is on my list—perhaps I’ll see her next month.