Looking for peace

It was a blessing to see this man leave the hospital, because when he came in he was wasting away and had kidney failure. In looking for the usual suspects, we came up empty.  But three weeks later he was gaining weight, had improved renal function and was doing better.

As part of my evaluation of him I asked him if he drank alcohol.

"A little, " he replied amid tsks tsks from his wife and mother who were with him.  

"Masanga?" (a local palm based wine)

"Yes."

"Liktoko?" (congo version of moonshine) 

"Yes."  

After informing him that some bad brew may have impacted his other medical problems, I asked him why he drink so much.  

"To find peace, to get away from trouble," he replied.

"How's that going?"

"Not so good," he said, shaking his head.

I then I had the pleasure to tell him how Jesus came to give him real peace.  I was able to introduce him to a God who isn't cool with his sins, but loves him so much that he made a way to get those sins taken away; not so he could just keep looking for peace in the wrong place, but so that he could find real peace with God.

A couple days later, I could see his disposition change.  He had spoken with our pastor/chaplain and had decided to turn his life over to Jesus.   And yet he still had kidney problems, yet his body was still eaten with infection, his weight was still down, he was still vomiting medicines, but his attitude changed.  He'd found peace, the giver of peace and that was enough for him.

Therefore, as he walked out of our hospital, getting better physically and meeting Jesus, I was happy for him.  I'm praying he continues to search out that true peace that he found here.

Thanks for praying and partnering,

Stephen