The one
sitting on the throne said, "See, I am making all
things new!" He said,
"Write
this: 'These words are trustworthy and true.'" Rev 21:5
There
was my friend Lew, confined by intravenous hoses and equipment, lying in a
hospital bed, waiting for his last moments, in this life, to be completed. Sitting
in a chair nearby was Lew’s daughter, Valerie, whom I had not met before, but
had certainly heard about through Lew’s many boasting about “his daughter”.
Interesting point Adonai, I don’t recall him calling her by her name before,
just “my daughter”, proudly distinguishing her as not just another person, but
as a cherished prodigy.
Lord,
as I walked into the dark room, I didn’t know how to help, what to do, what to
say. Lew, even in his failing condition, took the lead. His face brightened and
he reached for my hand. I could see a smile refusing to be contained by the oxygen
mask over his mouth. Lew’s eyes and his still firm grip spoke for both of us.
“It is good that we are here.”
Still
I wondered if You had a purpose for me in this place. I’ve been here before –
with my mother, with friends not terminal, but certainly struggling with pain.
What was I to do? Or was I just to be present? Such a difficult assignment for
a man who has been taught all his life to fix what is broken – was Lew broken?
It
seemed right, at that moment, to better introduce myself to Valerie. I explained
that her father and I attended a Sunday School class together and that he was a
great inspiration to me; that we had shared fellowship, books and great
conversations. She responded, saying she was so glad I had come and that her
dad had not been this alert for a while. She apparently saw an opportunity and
came to sit on the other side of the bed and spoke to her father.
She
began by explaining to him, that my presence seemed to have helped him and
that, since he was improved, they needed to talk about “the next decisions”.
She then reminisced about how Lew had helped her in her earlier years when she
was not doing well with her hand writing. Now she helped others with their
handwriting as a teacher. She described how, when she was learning to drive, he
had taught her about warning lights – green, yellow and red – and that had really
helped her in other parts of her life too.
“Now is a time of
warning lights for us, Dad”, she continued. She described his time in the
hospital, having friends and family constantly visiting, as “good moments” and
that a warning light was signaling this would soon change – they would have to
make some decisions about his quality of life as his breathing became more
difficult. She patiently and lovingly laid out the plan for his transition,
allowing him time to nod or shake his head as she offered difficult, but
necessary choices.
Suddenly,
as I held Lew’s hand and listened, I had one of “Your moments”. You know the
ones Rabbi, when You shine a brilliant light into my heart of hearts and
whisper softly, “Don’t miss this.”, and shockwaves flow through my soul. The
blurry picture before me focused perfectly. I heard Lew’s wisdom, his beautiful
solid voice of reason, coming out of the mouth of “his daughter”. The words
were not hers…or even his. They were Yours, originally seeded into my friend
through his life experiences, fed and nurtured years later into Valerie through
her life experiences and now, tenderly given back as a matured flowering gift
to their original planter: Lew speaking to Lew through his beloved child. You
were telling him; You were telling all three of us, “See, I make all things
new.”
I can only pray for
such a day, when You bless my children, my family, my friends to speak into me
in this way; revealing what I have yearned to offer them over the years – the
only thing of true value I have to offer – Your love and relationship.
Had
I helped to somehow on Lew’s behalf? Was Lew broken? Does it matter? Not
anymore. My Brother in Christ is now on the other side – no distractions, no
suffering, no trials to bear. He is healed – the Greek word that you, Jesus,
used was iaomai – to be made
whole. Lew is made whole – dancing,
rejoicing and focused on what still is the only thing of true value in life; Your
love and relationship.
I
miss him Lord. Now what do I have? What do the friends and family of Lew have
of him? Oh…right…I remember: we have the flowering messages You spoke to us,
through him. We have life pictures of a man who had struggled with cancer for
many years…no that doesn’t describe it well enough…who had accepted his
affliction and turned it, as he did everything in his rich life, into an
opportunity to witness, even to nurses, doctors and others as he lay in a
hospital bed. We have an example of an ever positive, ever Up-looking man
through whom You used to constantly demonstrate Your love and healing power.
You
have made Lew whole…fixed, and I am fixed with him.
Thank you God for the
memory and gift of my friend, Lew.
Mark A. Cornelius
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