“Whoever who lives and puts trust in Me will never die." ~ John 11:26
As a hospice nurse for nearly a dozen years, Laini remained
confused by the concept of death. Is there life after death? Are heaven and
hell real? If there is a God, what happens to nonbelievers after taking their
last breath?
Death, in many ways,
is a moment of truth.
Today, she sat for a few moments with Mona who, at age 54,
was actively dying from inoperable cancer and drifting in and out of consciousness.
She knew all too well the effects of medication and fatigue on a dying brain.
Her patient nuzzled comfortably in a bed encircled by
vibrant, fragrant flowers while her family gathered back at Mona’s home. Laini
considered it an honor to share this space alone at her bedside. Years of
working with people nearing their final goodbye had given her a more hopeful
understanding of death. She knew this woman was seeing more, not less than she
was.
“Mona?” she said,
pointing to an empty chair in the corner of the room. “That’s my son, Aaron. Do
you see him?”
Laini nodded
reassuringly, staying in the background and following Mona’s lead. The phantom
guest held his Mom’s complete attention. Mona listened with a warm heart as
tears ran down both cheeks.
The closer her
patients came to dying, the more their eyes and spirits seemed open to a
reality Laini could only discern weakly. Something he said must have touched
her deeply.
“I loved you then, I
love you now, and I will love you for all eternity,” she told her son tenderly.
Mona bowed for a short prayer before turning to her hospice nurse. “He needed
forgiveness and needed to know that I’ll love him forever,” she said with
perfect lucidity.
From previous conversations, Laini knew that Aaron was in
prison and could not have visited her in person. But Mona remained adamant
about his presence before falling back asleep.
It reminded Laini of words a colleague once shared: "A candle burns
brightest just before it goes out.”
Mona passed away peacefully
a few days later, comforted by the family that gathered around her.
Upon reflection, Laini
saw a recurring pattern in her work. Patients near death often described not
just visits from absent loved ones but an extraordinary awareness of God’s
presence. She realized just how thoroughly she misunderstood death and came to
understand the joy God has prepared for his children.
For Christians, death
is a strange and wonderful beginning, a threshold to some new and more
beautiful world. There can be no greater hope than that.
