A   SPARROW  FALLS

The time and the names of the main characters in the following scene have been altered so no one but my wife, June and I, remember the individuals and the drama as clearly as if it were yesterday.

Doris was a young woman now close to death and at one of the local hospitals. She had been under hospice care for just a few months with terminal cancer.  Her life had been a series of tragic losses.  She had been given up by her mother who had found herself unable to adequately care for her.  Her adoptive parents were professional and strict and there had been too many rules and too much conflict for Doris, so she left home in her teens and, as far as we knew she had lived at least part of her life on the streets.  Her strict parents had largely left her to fend for herself, and lost contact.

When she became ill, hospice became involved, but it would not be for long. Her body had little resistance and she was admitted to the hospital which is when June and I enter the picture.  Doris, knowing that her life was nearing its end was desperately lonely. She had faint memories of the mother who had once cared for her, but had not had contact since then.  She had only bitterness about the strict parents who could never understand her grief or sense of loss nor shown any compassion for her failures.  Could her long lost mother be located for her now when she needed her most?  The palliative/hospice care director was kind and did the necessary investigative work, learning that the state of Doris’ origin could permit the divulging of the parent’s name in certain circumstances.  Doris’ mother was located in another city about 50 miles distant and she would be only too glad to come to be with her daughter, just if she could be provided the transportation. 

Our name was on call for palliative care emergencies, for whatever the need was.  About eight o’clock, our phone rang.  Could we come to the hospital?  Our director was there and she had the address of Elizabeth, Doris’ mother and it was evident that Doris was close to death. Could we go and get her mother as soon as possible?   In the meantime, our director was going to call Rev. H., the Anglican/Episcopal priest, whom we all knew.  He would be a comforting presence.  It was raining, coming down in sheets, and we knew that time was precious.  We made it back in three hours.

Doris was still conscious, and there was a tearful reunion.  Those of us in the background were weeping too.  We had made it back in time, and that was what mattered!  And Rev. H. had stayed there all that time.  He was so kind!

Two days later, the funeral was at the Rev.’s church.  I am not sure that he used a text for his brief homily, if that is what it was, but the words I do remember him reading were from the Gospel of Mathew where Jesus stated that “not even a sparrow would fall to the ground without His Father’s notice.” So even regardless of how difficult our life, or futile it might appear to be, Jesus has said that God cares.  Doris’ adoptive parents attended the funeral and accompanied our little group to the burial.  Elizabeth stayed with us that night and we returned her the next day.  We kept contact for a couple of years, but her life was too disorganized to keep anything in order.

We lost contact with dear Rev. H.  A few years later, we were shocked to learn that our dear kind priest friend was in serious trouble, and there was nothing that anyone could do to help him.  Someone, from long ago had filed charges against him for sexual misconduct. He did not contest the charges and was sentenced to serve time in prison. We no longer live near that community and we have not heard how he has fared since then.  But we do hope that his faith remains intact and that he too remembers that “not even a sparrow falls to the ground without His Father’s notice.”   

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