When I wrote something awhile back about visiting people in the hospital, I said that the most practical thing you can do to be helpful is to foam your hands on the way into the room and foam them on the way out.

It doesn’t sound very spiritual, I suppose, but it shows profound love and respect for the person you are visiting and the rest of the people you will see.

That comes to mind today because the hospital where I work is very full of people these days, with people who are there for germ reasons. (As opposed to accidents or strokes.) As a result, patients, family members, and staff are feeling a bit overwhelmed. Everyone is waiting. Everyone is wondering. A bunch of people are hurting. A bunch of people are doing the best they can to help.

So here are my spiritual suggestions for today, ways to practically follow Jesus.

1. Heal people (I mean, of course, let God heal through you. But if God uses you to do this? Awesome.)
2. Sleep.
3. If you have a fever, stay home. It shows respect for your colleagues and the public and your elderly relatives.
4. Wash your hands.
5. Wear a (surgical) mask. It’s important to be vulnerable and honest, of course and not use the masks of “happy all the time”, but don’t be vulnerable to germs.
6. Don’t holler at the triage nurse. It’s not her or his fault we are all here.
7. Carry your own tissues. Use them. And wash your hands.
8. Take the medicines you are given, follow the directions you are given.
9. Offer as much graciousness as you can possible offer.
10. Let me know if you are coming to Parkview. I’ll do my best to stop by.

If you are stuck at home and need something to read, my friend Lee Warren just published his new book this week. Read my reflections on the book: When there’s no hope of recovery, how do you recover hope?