The Grouch

By Guy K. Henry

www.guyhenry.com

Two nurses stood outside of Mr. Miller’s hospital room. They dreaded having to go into his room. One said to the other, "It’s your turn to check on the grouch."

Then from deep inside the dark room came a rumble, "I heard that!"

The two nurses rolled their eyes. One lied, "We weren’t talking about you Mr. Miller." Then she said in her best fake cheerful voice, "I’ll be right with you Mr. Miller." With that she grabbed her electronic thermometer and dashed into the room.

When Mr. Miller caught sight of the nurse, he opened his mouth to complain about the lump in his bed. Before any sound came out, the nurse stuck the thermometer in his mouth like a cork. He tried to grumble around the thermometer, but he couldn’t make any sensible words.

The nurse had been holding his wrist taking his pulse when she calmly said, "Keep your mouth closed Mr. Miller." She grinned as she thought how much she’d wanted to tell him to shut his mouth all day.

Mr. Miller dropped his head back on the pillow, and pouted. "Don’t chew on the thermometer," the nurse said.

Mr. Miller bit down on it just as the machine beeped to signal that it had measured his temperature. "Let go!" the nurse snapped as she tried to pull it from his clenched teeth.

As soon as Mr. Miller’s mouth was unplugged he started complaining. "There is a terrible lump in my bed!" "It’s too cold in here." "When will they bring my crummy dinner?" "Will my food be cold again?"

The nurse turned to leave. "Hey, aren’t you going to do something about the lump in my bed?" She pretended not to hear the grouch.

Mr. Miller sat in his bed with his arms folded and his face sour. "They don’t listen to me!" he growled. Then he shouted into the hallway, "There is a lump in my bed!" No one paid any attention.

After a while, in spite of the lump, he fell asleep and dreamed grouchy dreams. When he awoke, it was dark outside, and a cold dinner sat on his table. He picked through the tray of food and didn’t find anything that was good enough to eat.

As he pushed the table away, he heard a tiny sneeze.

"Who’s there?" he barked

Five-year-old Gracie had wandered into Mr. Miller’s room by accident. She had gotten lost, and thought that she was in her Pa-Paw’s room.

"I said, WHO IS THERE!" Mr. Miller scowled.

"It’s me, Gracie Rose Robinson," she said in a cheerful voice. "I thought this was my Pa-Paw’s room."

Mr. Miller scrunched up his face and said, "Do I look like your grandfather?" His voice was bothered and mean.

"Yes, you do a little," Gracie said smiling, "Your eyes look a lot like his."

Mr. Miller was surprised by this answer. He had thought that his angry words would have sent the little girl running from his room in fear. Instead, she stood there with a friendly smile. She didn’t answer his grouchy words with grouchy ones of her own, like everyone else did. Gracie was full of niceness. This kindergartener was different!

Mr. Miller was not used to such kindness. He saw her smile and snarled, "Are you laughing at me?"

"No sir," Gracie answered. "I’m just thinking how happy I am that I wandered in here and met a new friend."

No one had called him a friend in years, and he worried he might cry. Mr. Miller’s eyes became watery.

Gracie saw the tears, and was worried. "Are you Okay mister?" she asked.

Mr. Miller snapped back into his old complaining habit. "There is a terrible lump in my bed!" he grumbled.

When Gracie heard that, she pressed her little nose against the rails of the bed, and tried to figure out what was causing the lumpy problem. "Scoot over mister," she said after a while.

"What are you doing kid!" Mr. Miller yelled.

Gracie reached forward, and pulled with all her strength. Soon a pillow that was wedged underneath Mr. Miller slid out.

"That’s incredible," Mr. Miller said, now smiling. "My back feels wonderful now!"

Gracie stood there with the pillow in her hand. "That lump has been bothering me for two whole days! Thank you!"

"I’m glad to help." Gracie answered. "Is there anything else I can do?"

For the first time in ages, Mr. Miller couldn’t think of anything to complain about. He was enjoying this visit. "Well, what did you say your name was, Miss?"

"I’m Gracie Rose Robinson, what’s yours?" she said.

It had been a long time since anyone cared to learn his name. He was used to people calling him, ‘The Grouch’. "My name is George," he replied, "and I’m also glad that I’ve met a new friend today."

Mr. Miller, err George, was smiling more now than he had in years. "I’ve got to know, why are you being so nice to me?" he asked.

Gracie’s smile grew even bigger than it had been. "That is easy," she said. "I learned in church that there was someone who loved me so much." She stretched her arms wide to show how big the love was. "And the amazing thing is that He loved me before I even knew about Him!"

George was sure that no one loved a grouch like him. Still, he was curious. "Who is this person? What’s his name?"

"It is Jesus," Gracie giggled. George was giggling too, though he wasn’t sure why. She explained, "Jesus loves me when I’m good. And when I am mean, He still loves me! Jesus loves me all the time, no matter what!"

"I like that," George said gently, "but again, why are you being so nice to a grouch like me?"

"Because I learned how to love people from Jesus," Gracie said. "My teacher says, since Jesus loves you," and she pointed at George, "no matter what you do, then I should show you love too!"

George wanted to know all about Gracie’s friend Jesus. They talked for a while. He learned that Jesus loved him just as much as He loved Gracie. He believed that Jesus loved him enough to give up His life so that he could live forever in heaven.

Later on George prayed. He said, "Jesus, Gracie showed me that you are real. She told me that you love me a lot. You love me so much that you died for me so I can live forever in heaven. Jesus, I believe that you did all of that for me. I trust you to take me to heaven. Jesus, please take away all my meanness and bad things I do."

George felt much better after Gracie’s visit. It wasn’t the doctors or the medicine that did it. No, it was his great new friend. Gracie had shared with George the love that Jesus had shown to her. Because this special kindergartener wasn’t shy about showing Jesus’ love, George’s life was forever changed.

If you’ve met Jesus, you need to introduce Him to the people you meet. Yes, even with a grouch.