Prayerful Pondering

by Pat Luffman Rowland

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I don’t remember a time I didn’t believe in God or know that Jesus was His Son and our Savior, but I made my profession of faith and was baptized at age 12. I’ll never forget the experience of understanding I was the Lord’s! The sun became ten times brighter and it was as if I could hear angels singing. It was a supremely joyful moment. And I can still “see” my immersion baptism in the small Baptist church as if I were looking on. With certainty and gratitude, I can declare that God has never failed me, even though I have failed Him many times over. God has blessed me with family and friends, opportunities and health, freedom and education. He has been ever faithful and I look forward to the day when I can bow at the feet of Jesus and thank Him for His unconditional love that has made all the difference. I have an undergraduate degree in Healthcare Consumer Relations and a master’s in Religious Studies. In 1990, I received the designation of Fellow with the National Society of Patient Representation and Consumer Affairs of the American Hospital Association. I worked for 27 years in healthcare, retiring as Corporate Director of Patient Affairs with Methodist Healthcare in Memphis, TN in 1998. A major part of my career was teaching about patient concerns and needs, their rights, and ethical matters of healthcare. I taught through writing, as well as speaking from coast to coast. For several years, I authored a byline, Patient Perspective, for a healthcare journal. Other publications include Tennessee Hospital Association newsletter, Marketing Perspective, nursing and pharmacy newsletters. I received a writing award from the American Hospital Association in 1990. There are three things in my life that I count the most rewarding: my work with the mentally challenged from 1978-1983, my healthcare days establishing and directing patient advocacy for a large healthcare system, and my present work as a reading tutor. Most of my writings at present are devotional in nature. Devotional publications include Upper Room, Presbyterian Daily, and on my church website, www.famemphis.net. I am retired and live in a suburb of Memphis with my cat Chloe. My daughter and son-in-law, Kristi and Mark Hearn, live in Georgia and are the delights of my heart. Additionally, I am blessed with a spiritual family, Son (Tim) and Hien-Anh (Hannah) Le, their children, Rachel, Rebecca, and Esther, and Hannah’s mother, Phuong Hong. I am active in my church, First Assembly Memphis, and tutor second graders at First Assembly Christian School (FACS).

Author: Pat Luffman Rowland

  • Mornings with Samantha

    I love the still quietness of early morning. All seems best with my world at that time of day and it is then that I spend time with God. I need this first thing because I know if I don’t do it first, it likely won’t get done at all, and I need His guidance…

  • The Interceding of the Great Physician

    Yesterday our pastor told about a man in our church family who went in to have an upper body x-ray, and for whatever reason, the x-ray camera was positioned lower than it should have been. Because of the error, an abdominal mass was found. There had been no symptoms of cancer in his body and…

  • Prayer and Samantha’s Surgery

    Samantha, my 13 year old Siamese, had surgery 10 days ago to remove a cyst over her left eye. Samantha has always been an easily frightened cat and taking her to the vet is never easy for either one of us. But the cyst had been growing slowly over the past several months and it…

  • Hitting Bottom

    When I worked in a hospital, we sometimes had meetings over lunch for educational purposes. I have often thought of one speaker in particular, a counselor from our Behavioral Health facility, an off-campus care center for treating drug and alcohol addictions. The counselor, who had once been addicted to drugs, explained what it was like…

  • My Word is LOVE

    It’s spreading like a sudden fire in a dry forest. A one word focus for the New Year rather than a list of resolutions most of us never keep. My word of focus came without thinking twice. The word is “love.” I choose “love” because the ones I have admired most are those who have…

  • A Father and Daughter’s Communion

    As they slowly walked the aisle to the place where they would kneel to receive communion, the father would bend down from time to time and whisper to his little girl. She would nod understandingly, holding close to his side. Then when a place was made available for them to kneel, they went forward and…

  • While Waiting in Line

    There was a problem at the store’s point of check out. The line of waiting customers stalled and those nearest her were subjected to a loud woman intent on drawing a customer right behind her into conversation. At first I was annoyed by her rudeness and grateful we had this one person between us. But…

  • Tuesday Morning Prayer

    The words of my morning devotional stood bold before me: “Unity doesn’t depend on outward conformity, but understanding hearts.” It was an apt description of my Tuesday morning prayer group.  Outwardly, we are quite different: different personalities, different backgrounds, different in many ways. But there is commonality that unifies us, and that is love for…

  • A Patient of Courage and Wit

    This is another story from patient representative days, first published in my December 1988 department report to physicians and hospital staff, then later in the Memphis Healthcare News. It is a smile maker and I hope you will enjoy it. There are particular patient memories I hold fast because of a patient’s special courage, kindness, even wit. Mr.…

  • My Grandmother’s Love

    This is dedicated to the memory of Wendell Smith, who grew up across the street from my grandparents and loved my grandmother like his own, and was loved by her in the same way. Wendell called her Mama Dulcie just like the rest of us, and it was he who preached her funeral in 1991. Dulcie Pauline…