Peace for the CaregiverSample

PEACE, PEACE, WONDERFUL PEACE

In the last two weeks of his life, Dan lost the ability to swallow. He could not eat or drink anything without choking and aspiration.  With the inability to swallow, his body created lots of saliva, with no way to rid of it.  Do you know how hard that is to watch as a wife?  Oh I wanted to be sure that in this storm, he still had peace!

Dan had given his life to the Lord in 1977 and changed the way he lived, but like all of us, some areas needed help.  Had he given it all over to the Lord?  When we began this study, I mentioned that I avoided our routine morning Bible Study because I feared it would make him think of dying. Like I said, I was in complete denial.  I knew it was happening, I could see it was happening, but it was my way of protecting my emotions while caring for him.  I think I was protecting myself more than I was him, another regret.  

One day my daughter, who lived in California, asked me to give her dad the phone.  I had it on speakerphone.  As I listened, she did what I wanted to do but skirted it for the reasons given above.  

“Dad, are you at peace about dying?  Have you given everything over to God?  She asked him to repeat this sinner’s prayer.   I sat and listened, and my spirit was like a yo-yo in that moment.  Part of me was upset because it made us both realize that his death was near, and part of me was joyous because she did what I should have done to assure him of his eternal peace.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.”  John 5:24

Most people call in a Pastor, Priest, or Rabbi for the terminally ill.  I failed to ask for help because Dan and I were very confident in our spiritual walk.  I needed to hear my daughters phone conversation.  

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9

CAN YOU RELATE?

There is nothing in life to prepare us totally for the death of a loved one. However, there is one thing that will bring the terminally ill and the caregiver peace. That is knowing they are well in their soul. Join me tomorrow as we end this study as we address the matter of ‘Location!’