The Wondering Sheep: Episode 18 – Living the Christian Life
"Help! I Need Somebody!"
April 17, 2026
Did you recognize the lyric in this episode’s title? Depending on your age, or how much you prefer “oldies,” it was easy. It’s the start of a Beatles hit. Have you ever “Needed” someone? We all needed our parents; in fact, we may have been a needy child and needed them at all times! Parents, did you ever need your kids to be with you for safety? Have you ever felt helpless when your parent or another person close to you lies in front of you and is about to leave this earth?
It can be terrifying to either need help or to be the person whose help is desperately needed. For the most part, all of my parents and grandparents died when I was hundreds of miles away. I’ve had students under my care and other duties when a close relative died. I’ve had students under my care end up in the hospital with the parents far away (that was truly terrifying to me as I was not the parent who could give doctors permission to treat; luckily I had the family phone numbers). I also had a wife in a car that she totaled on the way home with me a half mile away with traffic blocked on my arrival because of the accident. That is the fastest I’ve ever run in my life - got there just in time to see the firemen use the jaws of life to free her from the wreckage.
At some point in your life, you may be called upon to be at a loved one’s bedside as they are about to meet their Savior. Whether you can get there when called or you are hundreds of miles away, you can often feel helpless as you have no control. You cannot heal a disease, fix wounds, or return a person to life.
There is so much more comfort if you know they are among those who believe in Christ’s forgiveness of sins. They may have been baptized soon after birth! If you feel unsure of what to say, trust that the Holy Spirit will give you the words and the knowledge of how to use them. Remember, all that happens in our lives is part of God’s plans for us. Take comfort that He has a plan, especially if we fail to see that plan in this life and in this sinful world.
How do you prepare for the “bad” times we will ALL have? We need to be in God’s Word to begin with. We need to have a prayer life. We need to trust that we will be given the right words to comfort and reflect God’s love, even if we feel totally tongue tied. God will provide.
What brought this “episode” into being? This last week, Pastor Sprain had a pastor’s conference in Calgary. Pastor Uhlhorn also attended, which meant that the closest pastor to here was likely in Watertown, SD (or retired Pastor Krause). After they were on the way, I emailed Pastor Sprain asking who to contact if there was an emergency. He essentially said that I, as SOTV President, and the other elders would be next on the list to help people who needed immediate pastoral care. In the FM area, this is not out of the ordinary. With two major medical centers, two major highways, and, of course, our own members, It is not out of the question that someone would need pastoral care on an emergency basis... I started thinking, would I know what to say? What are the procedures to follow? Once called, how do I get access? You see that it is not all that easy or straightforward.
Luckily, nothing happened... this time! If I also was gone, who would have been next to “be on call” to help other believers who need some pastoral’ care or Christian comfort? We are all members of the priesthood as believers. We usually leave those actions to those trained. It may be something to think about as we grow in our life as Christians and prepare to serve our Savior as He calls us to do.