Home for Christmas

I have been spending Sunday afternoons with a dear friend in a nursing home. She has had a long fight with breast cancer. She had surgeries and treatments. The treatments made her weak and stole her resistance to infections. She had several bouts with pneumonia. Last Sunday she was in so much pain it broke my heart.

I wet cold rags to cool her burning mouth and replenished her water. I said, "Jesus is making all things new," and she smiled. I grabbed her hand and prayed, "Lord, please rescue Patty from this bed of suffering, either for this world or yours." I knew she was ready to go home to be with the Lord. I could tell that she was exhausted from the pain. "Patty, try to rest now," I told her. "If you go to sleep, it's okay." She went peacefully to sleep and I left.

When I turned the key in my car, Mary's Song was on the radio. Tears flowed and I knew I would never see Patty again. Today she is home (in Heaven) for Christmas. She went to be with the Lord 6:00 Tuesday morning. I will miss my Sunday afternoons with her. We watched church DVDs and sang the songs together. When people gave their testimonies she said, "I remember when he went through that."

Thank you, Father God, for rescuing Patty from her suffering. Thank you that she is home for Christmas, no longer in pain, no longer trapped in her paralyzed body, free to walk in the garden in the cool of the day, free to dance or bow in your presence. Thank you, Jesus.