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Sometimes a casual conversation can unexpectedly open up into an honest discussion of faith. A few weeks ago, I was at my podiatrist's for a checkup. Caring for someone's feet is a holy profession. After all, Jesus washed the apostles' feet and told them that they should do the same for others.

Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 13:13–14)

I'm not sure how the conversation wandered on to miracles, but it was something that my podiatrist wanted to talk about. He asked me if I believed in miracles. I told him that I did, and that I didn't see any reason why miracles should have stopped after Christ's lifetime. He goes into private homes to care for elderly, home-bound patients and talked with emotion of a particular woman whose bedroom is like a shrine, filled with religious figures, pictures, and several burning votive candles. My podiatrist could understand how miracles happen to someone of such great faith, but he asked, "Why do miracles happen to people who aren't even very religious?" I thought of Paul on the road to Damascus being blinded by the light of Jesus Christ who appeared before him. Paul certainly was a "very religious" Jew, but he was persecuting the Christians. My answer to my podiatrist's question was, "Maybe it's the people who don't believe who are the most in need of a miracle. God has certainly used great sinners to do his will. If you had to be 'religious' to be used by the Lord, his work would never get done."
We had a wonderful conversation, as unexpected as it was enjoyable. It would never have happened if I hadn't taken the time to listen.
There's a wonderful line in a song by Carmen McRae:

Never stopped to listen,
Never missed a chance to speak

There are people all around us whose hearts are lonely hunters. They have a hunger to share their stories with someone who is compassionate and understanding. Don't turn them from your door. Take the time to listen to them, to encourage them, and to pray for them. Christ would do no less. Better yet, tell them about Jesus. No one listens as lovingly and with as much compassion as Christ.

The end of the chapter.

My wife Ruth and I go to visit the sick regularly. We're going to visit Lorettat, a woman who has had cancer and other serious health problems now for several years. She lives in the south but has stayed up here in Connecticut for the last couple of years taking care of her Aunt, who is crippled with rheumatoid arthritis. Loretta has a male friend where she lives back home but rarely has a chance to get down to be with him. She's devoted every ounce of strength to taking care of her Aunt. Now, she's in the hospital again. She doesn't have anyone to take care of her, and her friends and the rest of her family live down south. We're going to visit her, and we may be the only ones who do. Most people are uncomfortable visiting people who are not family or immediate friends who are seriously ill.
Most of the people we visit are strangers. People say to us, "I couldn't do that, I wouldn't no what to say." My answer always is, "It's not important waht you say. No one expects you be be brilliant and wise. They just appreciate that someone cares about them emough to listen." They need a story listener.