The Passing of a Friend

I sat down this morning to compose a blog on an entirely different subject matter from this, but just as I began my work on it, the phone rang.  That call brought the news of the passing of a dear friend of mine, and I instantly turned off the computer to drive to the home of his widow and offer what comfort I could to her.

On Sunday afternoon of this past weekend, I felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to go to the home of this dear saint and his wife and bring them a "church service."  Since he had been seriously ill for many months, and his wife had chosen to keep him at home in order to care for him, neither one had been able to attend a church service in a very long time.  Knowing their love for the Lord and for their church family, I set aside some other planned activities in order to take a message from Scripture and some music to familiar hymns to share with them Sunday evening.  Although my friend had not spoken or responded to stimulus for several days, when I began to play my accompaniment CD and sing the hymn "Near to the Heart of God," he opened his eyes, reached for my hand, and began to sing along in a fragile little voice.  His wife, daughter, and a hired caregiver were amazed and tears filled their eyes.  When we finished the song, he closed his eyes once more... never to open them again.

Often in life the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and lays a burden there for someone we know.  Unfortunately, we do not always listen carefully, nor are we quick to respond to the call to reach out and minister to them.  After all, we have busy schedules and more enjoyable things we want to do.  Taking time away from our own desires to fulfill the desire of the Lord is simply too inconvenient for many of us.  Sometimes it means we may have to miss our favorite television show, give up a portion of our day, and perhaps even spend a little extra money for gasoline to make the trip to see the one for whom God has given us the burden.  So, we reason our way out of it, brush the thought aside, and promise ourselves that we'll go "another time, when it isn't so inconvenient."

I will never regret having made that trip last Sunday to this dear man's home.  Sharing a worship experience with him and those others in the house caring for him was a great privilege and more of a blessing to me, I'm quite sure, than it was to them.  Later in the week, I even took another "church service" to a second dear woman from our church family who is also a shut-in and shared a message of encouragement and music with her and her devoted husband of over 60 years.  Now, I feel compelled to make some phone calls to see if I might be able to minister to several other elderly couples and individuals who are no longer able to attend our weekly worship services at the church.  Perhaps they, too, would be blessed to participate in a time of Bible reading, teaching, and music in worship of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us always remember that our time on earth is tenuous.  We know not the day or hour when God will call us home to eternity.  How sad it would be if we had missed those opportunities to minister to our brothers and sisters that He placed before us.  Living with the regret of having missed the chance to offer kindness and compassion to a lonely, hurting, or sick soul is something none of us wants to experience.

When Jesus came upon Peter and his brother, Andrew, fishing in the Sea of Galilee, he said to them, "Come, follow me...".  Matthew 4:20 says, "At once they left their nets and followed him."  At once... not when it was more convenient, not when they had finished what they were doing.  At once they left their nets.  When the Lord speaks to our hearts, we must choose to immediately obey His call and be ready to leave our "nets" behind to follow Him.  Failing to do so may lead to a life of deep regret.

After the funeral home had come and removed my friend's lifeless body from the home, a group of us gathered in the living room.  I had taken the accompaniment CD (the one I used on Sunday night) with me when I left my home, and together we all sang "Near to the Heart of God" in memory and dedication to our dear friend.  Many tears were shed, but many embraces were also shared.  Together we began the time of grieving for our lost loved one, and together we will celebrate his life.  Healing comes with time.  Strength comes from love.  No regrets... only those "precious memories-  how they linger."

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."

(John 14:1,2)