“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the child-like. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.” (Matthew 11:25-26)
I have a patient who was home on hospice care and was admitted to the hospital on June 14th for pain control and end-of-life care. He is still alive today. We didn’t think he would make it through that first night and many other nights since then. Physiologically he should not be alive. His lungs are full of cancer, he hasn’t eaten in 6 weeks, he drinks very little and receives enough pain medication to kill several large adults, yet he is only 14 years old and is still in pain. He asks every day why God doesn’t take him and put an end to his suffering. I don’t have an answer to that question.
He has an incredible faith! He loves Jesus and knows that he will be with Him soon. He is looking forward to having both of his legs again and running in heaven. He has talked about how beautiful “the gates” are, several times. One day he mentioned being in a field with Martha. He loves to listen to the Christian music CDs I made for him and they are usually playing when you walk in his room. He loves to have scripture read to him, especially Psalms, and he talks about Jesus to everyone who walks in his room.
Maybe this month has been given to him to evangelize to all of us at the hospital. This amazing young man has so many reasons to be angry at God, yet he only has words of praise. His witness to God’s fidelity reminds me that being a Christian means to bear all things through Christ and to always trust in Him. What a privilege for me to be a part of his life when he is on the edge of life and death, on the cusp of heaven! To receive glimpses of what is to come when it is my turn to travel on that journey.
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:15-17).
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