I was visiting with my patient, Sandi, who had recently been diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Her prognosis was poor, and she was going to stay with her brother and his wife in another state — for the rest of her life.
I had met her a year or so earlier when her husband was a cancer patient. She was one of those special people who connects easily with everyone. Even in the midst of her sorrow about her husband, she was endearing to everyone who met her.
After he passed away, I lost touch with her until one day I saw a familiar address on my patient list. I was shocked to find that it was her. Now it was her turn with cancer.
The really sad part of it all is that she was not a believer in Jesus. So on this day of my last visit, I prayed inwardly that God would come to her and she would respond to him and want a relationship with Jesus. We talked about God and the afterlife, but she didn’t believe in him.
As we chatted, she was her typical positive self until she suddenly stopped and said, “I guess I need to pack. But what do you pack when you are going away to die?”
At that moment, we both knew that nothing material mattered any more. Her life was going to end. Soon. What was really important now?
Before she left town, she threw herself a big party! She invited everyone she knew, which was a lot of people. She wanted to be able to tell her friends goodbye in person.
We had a mutual friend who was invited to the party. As the friend and I talked about her opportunity to see Sandi one more time, my friend decided to give her a card encouraging her to know Jesus by reading the book of John in the Bible. We both prayed diligently for her. We don’t know what happened.
But we know that God loves every person and wants them to be with him forever. Whether she chose to respond to him, we can’t know right now. What this reminds me of, though, is that none of us know how much time we have remaining on this earth. Only God knows.
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, I hope you will read the book of John. God has a gift for you!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Pam Means
Great message Pam! Thank you!
Actually, we don’t need to pack a thing except a joyful and thankful heart for what God did got us. He is enough!
Thank you for sharing your blog. Love and miss you. ❤️
Love and miss you too!🥰
Once again great insight into what we meet in our lifetime and how it affects those that don’t know Jesus. Even though you don’t know if she accepted Him, you know you did your best to bring her to Him. One question… Did her husband know Him? Just curious if you know.
Not that I know of☹️
Excellent. Who among us has not known someone facing the end.🙏