In the past, Churches used to have graveyards nearby that parishioners walked by to get to the services. While a bit morbid for today’s church culture, the practice did remind people of their mortality.
I experienced something close to that recently by visiting a friend on the hospice floor at Penrose Hospital in downtown Colorado Springs. Everyone on that 6th floor was nearing death. I joined a few others who came to visit David. His cancer had finally taken over leaving the left side of his face covered in bandages.
When the nurse left his room, three of us went in. We were shocked to see how frail he was as he labored to breathe. But far stronger was the life of tenacious faith he had lived for Jesus Christ. His deafness and rejection by his own family didn’t deter him from gripping hard to the Lord. He spent years grappling with disabilities that would have overwhelmed most people.
We told him how much he had impacted our life. That he was loved. That he had left his mark. That he had stayed faithful all the way.
Even though he couldn’t speak, we knew he was taking in what was said by how he looked at us. We held his hand and prayed for him fighting the tears that filled our eyes.
Then we knew it was time to say goodbye.
I was struck by these five thoughts from my friend who was living on eternity’s doorstep:
- We lead lives of influence. We’ll never know how many people we’ve impacted by the way we lived. It’s a lot more that we think!
- We live with some form of disability. It may not be an obvious physical disability, but our wounds are there and go deep. What do we do with them? Can we trust God in the midst of our suffering?
- We grapple with faith issues. We may not sense God’s presence, but He is there holding our hand. David knew that God was with him and left us his remarkable example.
- We experience unexpected changes in our life story. We have expectations regarding how our life should turn out. Cancer is not a part of any chapter. Nor is divorce. Unemployment. Suffering. Loss of health. Yet the Author of our story is still writing something of great significance.
- We will finish life some day. Let’s be sure that we have the right finish line in view–one that finishes well for the Lord.
David never doubted that God would heal him. He believed it would be during his days on the earth. He just missed the location.
Thirty minutes after we left, David entered eternity. He taught us so much about suffering during his time on earth. Now, I don’t believe he is thinking about it at all.
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