The suitcases were packed with "vacation" clothes. It was to be a week of winding down by the pool with a good book, playing golf, enjoying good meals and taking in the local color.

We arrived at our destination tired after a long flight but excited about spending time with two couples we have known since our days in Ireland. One of the couples now lives in New Jersey, the other in a small village outside Dublin. Over years of friendship we have crossed the ocean many times to celebrate birthdays and weddings. This was planned to be a simple Florida vacation --- no children, no major events and certainly no problems.

Instead, it was a week spent in hospital waiting rooms, praying.

A few hours prior to our arrival, one of the men experienced chest pains and was taken to the local hospital. He appeared to be in good health so we trusted that a few tests would reveal something minor and he would be hitting the golf course Monday morning on schedule. This was not to be the case. Tests showed severely blocked arteries and mid-week he was operated on for a triple by-pass.

To endure a major medical crisis is always difficult; to go through it far away from home is very unsettling. Everything familiar --- doctors, hospitals, friends, church and family --- isn't there. A new environment requires trust in the unknown.

Very quickly, however, the hospital became comfortable. The kindness and friendliness of everyone --- doctors, nurses, the young servers at the coffee bar --- was calming, as was that aura of competence that eased the anxiety attached to serious surgery.

Then there was the artwork covering the hospital walls: large paintings of Jesus all along the main corridor. Initially, we were taken back. The paintings gave Jesus somewhat of a Hollywood look and we were not quite sure how to react. But after a few times down the corridor the effect of the historical Jesus, dressed as he would have been in his time, comforting modern-day hospital patients of all ages, made us feel quite at home. It was a place of faith. We were grateful that, in addition to healing, prayer was important at this hospital.

It was certainly important to our friend, the patient. He felt safer knowing he was being cared for in a place that understood the power of prayer. He's a man of quick Irish wit and kept us laughing right up to the time of surgery. Beneath the humor, however, he realized the seriousness of the situation and he did not hesitate to ask for prayers.

In the week spent in and out of the hospital rooms there were many lessons to be learned. The primary one was that God is present in different forms. People of all cultures and faiths shared one cardiac waiting room, and connected in ways that don't happen in the world outside of a hospital. Life stories were shared; people prayed for one another's loved ones. It seemed that the outside world stopped existing for a few hours every day. The primary elections being discussed on the television seemed quite unimportant. And when news arrived about a particular patient, everyone in the waiting room quieted down, respecting the moment.

We decided the paintings of Jesus, as well as the various Scripture passages throughout the hospital, made a difference in the level of care, creating a sacred space within a busy medical facility. It helped make a difficult situation a bit easier.

Anne Hansen is a member of the Camarillo Catholic community. Her e-mail address is familymail@aol.com.