Brian, Oh Brian!

"Look at the way the world is going." Brian moaned. "The COVID pandemic has made people panic. So many are getting sick. Hospitals are getting many admissions of COVID patients. The ICU and Oxygen beds are full. People are dying in ever-increasing numbers. Where is the world going to? Is there anybody in charge?"

                                                   Brian was a young student at the University. He was talking to his friend Stanley on the mobile. They were having all their classes online because of the pandemic. They found some time to chat and vent their feelings.

                                                   "I agree Brian. I agree with you. The world seems to go haywire. But there is a God who is in charge, I believe. We may not get the complete picture now as we are but mortals, but Brian, mark my words, one day we will know. And the Lord God is monitoring the situation closely, though it may appear he is nowhere to be seen."

                                                    Brian laughed loudly. As the peals of laughter trickled into the ears of Stanley, he sighed.

                                            "Brian, Oh Brian! I can't deny the facts, Brian. The Lord God is in control, I believe. He will eventually rule the entire earth when His kingdom will finally come. God has made the prophets speak about all these trials and tribulations in His Holy Word of God, Brian. I can show them to you if you have the patience."

                                                   "Sorry, buddy. I cannot concede to your point of view. In fact, I am sure I can never do it, in my lifetime."

                                                  "Okay, Brian, I understand your point of view, though I do not agree with it. Let's remain friends, agreeing to disagree agreeably. Okay?"

                                                 "Okay, Stanley! See you later."

                                                  Stanley knelt down in his room and prayed. He has been praying for the past year for his friend Brian. Brian was a confirmed agnostic. He did not see any relevance of faith or belief in God. They both had sparred quite a few times in the past year. Stanley continued to pray for Stanley.

                                                     "O Lord, my heavenly Father, I come to you again to plead for my friend Brian. You know how he thinks Lord. He says he has no idea of a God. Reveal yourself to Him Lord and help Him to see you. In spite of the pandemic, or rather through it, let him realize your existence, your presence, and your love. I pray this, in the Name of our loving Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ."

                                                     Tears rolled out from the eyes of Stanley as he prayed for his friend. He wiped them off. He walked into his kitchenette. Approaching his coffee machine, he carefully spooned the filter coffee into the cartridge of the machine. Then he put it on.

                                                     Stanley flipped open his mobile, and called his friend, "Hello Sarah!" he began as she picked up his call, "How are you doing? I am calling to request you to continue to pray for Brian. I am finding it difficult to share the gospel with him, as I shared with you before."

                                                     Sarah was their classmate. She also believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and shared the concern for Brian, along with Stanley. They had become close to one another like siblings as they shared the same Lord. They worshipped at the same church and went to the same Fellowship meetings.

                                                     "I am consistently praying dear Stanley. the Lord is sure to give us a breakthrough soon. Even during this difficult period, I believe, Stanley. Be patient and let's be praying fervently. That's what we need to do."

                                                     "Thank you, dear Sarah. You are such an encourager. I feel so much better after I talk to you. May the good Lord bless you. May He answer our prayers and bring Brian to Himself in a miraculous way."

                                                     "Amen and Amen dear brother Stanley."

                                                     They continued to chat about the church, fellowship, and other matters. As they stopped talking, Stanley could hear the burbling of the coffee machine and went to it to pour out a steaming hot cup of coffee for himself.

                                                     He added two sugar cubes and some cream and sat in his favorite chair, enjoying the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee for some time. Then he sipped the coffee. "Thank you, Lord, for the little things which make me happy. For this blessed cup of coffee, I am ever grateful to you my Lord!" he prayed silently as he enjoyed his coffee.

                                                     Two days later, Stanley got a call at 4 a.m. He was fully asleep and got up suddenly to grab his iPhone. It was Brian, "Sorry to wake you up Stan." he said, "I have no other friend to call but you. I am finished. Seriously. I had some cough and fever yesterday. Some cold too. I just took some OTC pills and managed. But through this night, I could hardly sleep." He coughed for nearly one entire minute.

                                                 Then he said, "I am continuously coughing. Cannot breathe. What shall I do? Where shall I go? I am alone. I thought of calling you Stanley because you are always kind to me. Who will take me?"

                                                     Sleep left Stanley suddenly. He prayed silently as he responded to this distress call.

                                                     "Don't worry Brian. I will come to you now. I will take you to the Hospital and help you there too. Just give me ten minutes. I will be with you."

                                                     He dashed in and out of the washroom, threw some clothes on himself, and left his room. He didn't even have a cup of coffee with which he would usually jumpstart his day. He knelt down in prayer. "Oh, Lord! You know everything. You know the difficulty with Brian. Help me as I go to help him. Let me take him safely over to the Hospital. Heal him, Lord, as only you can. Help me keep myself from infection too. I ask this in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen."

                                                     Rushing to Brian's apartment door, Stanley found it open and pushed in. He was wondering why it was open. He found Brian lying sprawled on his armchair, with his cell phone in his hand. He was almost comatose. Stanley called the ambulance and tried to wake Brian up.

.

                                                     "Brian, Brian!" he cried. Faintly he heard him mumbling, "Stanley. Help me. Help me."

                                                     "I am here to help you, dear Brian. We will go to the hospital. The Ambulance is on the way. God will heal you. Let me pray for you." Kneeling down near his friend, Stanley prayed, "Heavenly Father, I pray for your healing over my friend Brian. Touch Him lord, Hela him, and help us as we wait for help. Amen."

                                                     "A ....m... e... n" mumbled Brian as she struggled to sit aright. The sounds of the sirens rent the air as the ambulance arrived on location. The surefooted EM Technicians arrived rushing into the room. They asked Stanley. "Is he conscious?"

                                                     They quickly opened their stretcher bed. Two of them bundled Brian onto their bed and wheeled him away quickly to their vehicle. Locking up after them, Stanley too hobbled into the ambulance. The Technicians were fully robed in Personal protection equipment. They helped Stanley into a PPE kit and then allowed him to sit with them. Meanwhile, the oxygen was flowing into the mask they had fixed on Brian. He seemed to be improving. They got an IV line on him and started pumping him with some fluids.

                                                     The Ambulance zoomed towards the Hospital as a green line was opened to it. Once at the hospital, the nurses asked Stanley for the history and started emergency care in the Casualty. Stanley stood aside, letting them do their best to help his friend. He sent a message to Sarah to pray and was silently praying that God would grant Brian, health, and salvation too.

                                                     Minutes dragged onto hours. They wheeled Brian to the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor called Stanley and said, "Are you his...."

                                                     "Friend, I called for the ambulance and came with him here, am Stanley."

                                                     "Er Stanley. He seems to be responding well to the treatment. But is still critical. Things may go either way. We want to keep him under observation in the ICU for a day or two. Can you please go out with this sister and fill in the paperwork?"

                                                     As he filled up the forms and signed for his friend, Stanley's eyes brimmed with tears. He prayed fervently. hearing a ping, he scrolled his mobile to find a message from Sarah.

                                                     "Am praying with tears for our brother Brian, Stan. How is he now?"

                                                     "He is in ICU. The doc says it may be either way. Do continue to pray dear sis."

                                                     Stanley dropped his mobile into his pocket and walked over to the hospital canteen for a much-needed cup of coffee. He asked for a Caffe Latte and settled into a plastic chair there and kept sipping the coffee as he prayed continuously.

                                                     It was after two hours that he went to enquire after his friend. The doctor looked at him and smiled. "Your prayers seem to work, friend. Your pal is getting better. He is still on Non-Invasive Ventilation but he will pull through. We may shift him out of this ICU by tomorrow morning and he will slowly recuperate. You are fortunate!"

                                                     "Thank you, doctor, thank you," replied Stanley as he silently thanked God. He quickly sent a note to Sarah and continued to thank God for healing Brian.

                                                     The nest day morning, Stanley and Sarah came around to find Brian resting in his own room in the Hospital.

                                                     "Good morning Brian"

                                                     "Oh, it's you, Sarah and Stanley! I couldn't make you out in these PP kits. Thank you so much for helping me and praying for me."

                                                     "We are so happy to see you up and about Brian. How was your night?"

                                                     "I must tell you this. I had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ in my dream last night. I have realized that God helped me through you, Stanley. I have given up my fight against Him. I am repenting from all my sins right now. I am accepting Him as my personal Saviour. Thank you, Jesus."

                                                     "Amen, Thank you, Lord, Thank you," chorused Sarah and Stanley gratefully as they smiled.