So exclaimed Carrie, our angel of a nurse, at Sharp Memorial Hospital three weeks ago.

As (bad) fortune would have it, falling hard on the concrete on one’s side, smashing an elbow into the rib cage, is not something that’s particularly healthy. So, Diane and I found ourselves back in the ER of our large metropolitan hospital, a not-at-all unfamiliar place. Multiple X-rays and a CT scan conclusively showed an acute rib fracture and a punctured lung, known in the medical parlance as a pneumothorax. Immediate result: an invitation to stay in the hospital while things got sorted out. The big question was whether I would have to have surgery to implant a chest tube into my right lung which was partially collapsed. To put it mildly, this whole thing was more than a little painful.

Those of you who know me, know that Diane and I have been down some variation of this road many times. In fact, while I’ve been on a kind of writing hiatus, this blog began shortly after being discharged from the same hospital two and a half years ago. With a long and detailed medical history, we are accustomed to both major illnesses and the ways of doctors, nurses, and all other staff who are charged with the care of patients.

We are also accustomed to how we should face these kinds of things.

In short, just because circumstances are especially challenging and may involve suffering, we do not believe such things should alter our daily trajectory. By trajectory, I mean the fundamental principles by which we govern our approach to things.

Admittedly, this can be difficult. There are some types of suffering that are just too much to handle, the fact of which forces us to our knees in an act of surrender. We can be so clouded by pain or fear that whatever principles work most of the time are just not going to apply.

So, what am I talking about?

For starters, I have two principles I try to live my life by. First, try to be a blessing to others each day. Actually, this should not be all that hard but I’m not sure it’s a particularly common objective, even among those who would recognize it as a fundamental tenet of their faith. Perhaps more on that in a moment. Second, to be thankful each day for the gift of that day, a fact that is probably much easier to invoke in theory rather than as a matter of consistent practice. There are many other principles I ascribe to but these are definitely biggies.

So, staring around my room that painful first night, hardly sleeping, I couldn’t miss the standard white board opposite my bed. You hospital veterans know it’s the one where the patient’s name is noted, along with the names of the attending nurse, floor charge nurse and the assistants who make up the care team. These teams usually work long 12 hour shifts, with the names and faces changing accordingly. But, also on that white board is a place to write the patient’s goal for the day. In my recent visits, including the care for two different very good friends, I did not see that last category filled in, nor have I heard it discussed. That night, I knew that we would fill it in and I also knew what it would say.

So, when Diane returned early the next morning, just as the shift was changing, I asked her to write our goal as “Be thankful in all things.”

As I write this, I’m reminded of a Twila Paris song entitled, “Thank you for this Thorn.” You see, thorns can focus us in curious ways. We can go, “Why me? Why do I have to endure this pain, this disruption to my life, this load of bad stuff that makes it hard to breathe, get out of bed, face a dark world?” Or, perhaps we can see the thorn as an opportunity to change the equation.

No doubt about it, a large part of life is about dealing with suffering. I think that some people who don’t see it that way are probably missing the point. Oh, things might be going just peachy right now but come on, it hasn’t always been that way and it certainly will not always be that way in the future. And, of course, unless we are excluded from the physical and thought lives of other people both near and far, we have to acknowledge that suffering is one of life’s great realities.

It comes down to what we do about that.

As I write this, it’s easy for me to conjure up the images of three women I know who live with seriously debilitating illnesses. Each with the diagnoses that no one ever wants to hear. Each technically incurable by normal scientific methods. However, I see them constantly with faces aglow, forging through life, serving others and praising God. I can easily extend this to a host of others who regularly shoulder malady but do not give into cynicism or self-pity.

“Who are you people?”

I know people who daily look for those who are ignored. They notice people who go about their lives unnoticed. It is the easiest thing for them to approach strangers and offer a kind word and a helping hand. No hustle or bustle gets in the way. Opportunities abound at every juncture to open the door to beauty, to reorient a way of thinking and feeling.

Jesus said to his closest followers that they will be known by their love. Professing Christians clearly know this. Yet, we also know that this is much easier said than done. But, it is the easiest thing in the world to brighten a stranger’s face with a smile, a kind word, simply engaging in discussion to show that they matter.

Lest I be misunderstood, this is not an artificial prescription for behavior, a chore or kind of daily checklist. No, actually, it’s the product of accepting Jesus into one’s life and letting him help mold us into the kind of person he wants us to be. The byproduct is the result.

I think that Carrie, our dear nurse, sensed something in our smiling, our laughter, the way we showed care for her and others who came and went from our room amidst an admittedly trying time, that was somewhat uncommon. I say this with no boast, as I know full well how poorly I measure up to the standard set before me. Diane would second that about herself in a heartbeat.

So, in answer to the question, we are people who follow Jesus because there’s no better way to live one’s life. We take him at his word and his example. This is certainly not easy but the alternative is so much harder. We recognize there are many pitfalls along the way and there are many who self-claim as followers but do not walk the walk.

The answer is, “You will be known by your love.”