THE YOUNG MARINE: I'll Just Stay A While

Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:    Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. 

[Colossians 3:12-14] American Standard Bible 1901

As the soldier came into the room a nurse took the tired and anxious serviceman to the bedside of the elderly man. “Your son is here”, she said to the old man in the bed. She had to say it several times before she was heard and then the old man opened his eyes. He was heavily sedated because of the pain from his heart attack and he could hardly see the Marine standing by his bed. He reached out his hand and the Marine wrapped his strong young fingers around the limp one of the dying old man, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse came in and offered the Marine a chair so he could sit by the bed. Al through the night the young Marine sat there beside the bed holding the old man's hand. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile, but he refused. Now and then she heard the Marine say a few gentle and kind words to the dying man. The old man held tightly to his hand al through the night. Along towards Dawn the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand, that he was holding, and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do the Marine waited.

The nurse finally returned and started to offer her sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. He asked, “ Who was that man?” The nurse was startled and said, “ He is your father”. The Marine replied, “ No he is not, I never saw him before in my life”. The nurse said to the Marine, “ Then why did you not say anything when I took you to him”? T he Marine replied by saying , “ I knew right away there was a mistake, but I knew that he needed his son, and his son was just not there. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether I was his son or not his son and saw how sick that he was, and how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Gray to inform him that his son was killed in Iraq today. What was this gentleman's name” The nurse, with tears in her eyes, answered, “ Mr William Gray ”.

So The Next Time Someone Needs You: JUST STAY!