Editorial by Robert Kirwan

 
    One night last week my wife and I had the privilege of baby sitting our two granddaughters. Yes. We consider it a privilege every time we have an opportunity to spend time with them. Unfortunately, I had to attend a meeting so it was around 8:30 when I finally arrived at the house. My wife told me that my oldest granddaughter had been asking for me all night, wondering when Grandpa was coming. Thankfully, she was still awake and when she saw me I picked her up and she hugged my neck for what seemed like an eternity. We didn’t say a word to each other. Just hugged and snuggled.
  
   The previous night I had come across the following story in one of my email messages. Before I write another word, I want you to read it. It was entitled, “Stay”.
  
   Late one night at the hospital, a nurse took a tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside of a dying patient.
  
   "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
  
   The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength.
  
   Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital; the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
  
   Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
  
   Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.
  
   "Who was that man?" he asked.
  
   The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.
  
   "No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."
  
   "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"
  
   "I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."
  
   As my granddaughter and I held each other, I couldn’t help but recall the story about the Marine and the old man at the hospital.  I don’t know who needed each other more that night. One thing I am sure of is that my granddaughter felt the love I felt as we held each other. It must have been the same with the Marine and the old man.
  
   There is a saying that I turn to every now and then when I want to remind myself about what is important in this world. The saying is: “We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.”
  
   I regretted not being able to be with my granddaughter for the entire evening. It was unfortunate that I had a meeting to attend, but were it not for the meeting, I may not have had that wonderful, spiritual experience I had with her that night.
  
   The hug may have lasted only a couple of minutes, but I will remember the feeling for the rest of my life.
  
   The next time someone needs you…just be there. Stay. It is truly a privilege to be needed by another human being…just be there.
  
   Have a good week!