Terminally Ill

A Psalm of David ~ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

~ Psalm 23 KJV ~

Hospice

The following are a few brief accounts of opportunities I have had to care for the terminally ill. There have been sweet moments with patients as we talk about their families, travels, and the situations life has brought them. We pray, read the scriptures, and sing hymns. Watching their face light up with expressions of pure peace, I am sure they are feeling the Lord’s Holy Spirit as they await His arrival to take them home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My being assigned to a particular patient was purely led by the Lord. It happened so quickly! The reason became clear shortly after I arrived at the home.

I was to give respite to a couple caring for the man's elderly mother. She had advanced cancer and they anticipated her end at any time. They were emotionally prepared to see her go. Her husband of nearly 62 years had passed away three months earlier. She was asleep when I arrived at 6:00. She had been fed and given her medications and would probably sleep the entire time. The son and his wife left to go out to dinner. I was moved to read Psalm 23 out loud to her and to pray.

Shortly after, while sitting next to her I suddenly had a feeling that she was "fading." It is hard to describe. I looked closely at her and prayed Father would be merciful. A short while later, the phone rang. I left the room to locate it and found it in the kitchen. However, by the time I reached it, it had clicked over to the answering machine. As I walked back to the woman's room I paused to look at a wedding photo of her and her young bridegroom. I thanked God for them, marveling at such a long marriage. They were both strong believers so I felt secure that she had a place in heaven and that she would see him again soon. By the time I returned to her bedside, it was apparent Jesus had swept in and taken her home.
I called her son to tell him and they were back within minutes. For all the time they had cared for her and now being gone for scarcely two hours, they were saddened that they had missed the time of her transition to heaven. I encouraged them and conveyed that even though I was right there, the Lord arranged for me to be out of the room, so perhaps Jesus still would have made the passing private had they been present in the home. I am grateful the LORD God enabled me to be there to help them through this delicate time.

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One afternoon, one of my elderly patients blessed me with a few stories of her past. At the age of 19 she married a pastor. They became missionaries and traveled the world living out of a suitcase. He preached while she played the piano and led worship. As they got on in years they purchase a modest home to establish a home base in a little community within San Diego County, but continued to travel to spread the Gospel.

Her husband passed on to be with the Lord a few years prior, but her zest for life did not diminish and she continued to minister in her elderly community. It was during one of my visits I asked if she would like a song. Still somewhat ambulatory, she sat straight up and struggled to get to the piano in her living room. I assisted her. She sat down, opened her hymnal and set her hands to work on the keys, singing praises to Jesus in her soprano voice with vibrato at full throttle! I attempted to join her in the alto range and we had a grand time. Her health deteriorated quickly about two weeks later and she too joined her husband and is now in the glory of Christ. She was a very sweet woman. I am sure the heavenly choir is all the richer with her now in attendance.
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When I arrived on the Monday following Resurrection Sunday my Hospice patient was quite eager to tell me (as best she could having survived a stroke) how the Hospice Chaplain had brought her communion on Good Friday. I had scarcely remembered to call him the Wednesday before to see if he could find time in his schedule to bless her with it. I was so pleased to find that he had. She was quite taken that he had actually brought wine!

Wanting to thank me, she insisted I take the few chocolates her son had brought when he visited on Easter. I thanked her and put them in my purse to indulge at a later date. Without a word, she reached, with her good arm, to the table at the side of her bed, took a rather large chocolate egg out of a box and extended it toward my face. I could see two bites had been inflicted upon it, which must have registered some concern on my expression. She pulled it back, looked at it, turned it around in her hand and extended the other side of the egg. This side had sustained only one bite! I asked if it was her intent that I have some of it. She nodded. I took it from her hand and carefully on an uneaten side broke off a small piece and ate. I then put it back in the box for her to enjoy later. However, she was quite insistent that I take it all for myself. There were very few of her possessions where she was staying and it was really all she had to give. Under all the humor of the situation, it was quite a precious gift.

To the glory of God, a final note, a remarkable thing happened; the Lord answered our many prayers and blessed her health so abundantly that she actually came off of Hospice service. Hallelujah!