As a medical
intern at Eastern Virginia Medical School, I endured several rotations at
the
Hampton VA Medical Center. While nights on call were spent mostly
working up patients sent to me by the senior resident via the Emergency
Room, there was another more dreaded duty placed on interns at that
facility. You see, the Hampton VA Hospital was connected to an
adjacent hospice facility by a long underground corridor. At night, if
no other physicians were available at the hospice, the medical intern on
call at the VA Hospital would be summoned to officially pronounce patients
"dead" who had passed away at the hospice. This was really a mere
formality, since the hospice nurses knew perfectly well that the patient had
passed away. Besides, the hospice nurses themselves paged the
interns. But rules are rules, and an actual M.D. had to "pronounce"
the patient and sign the death certificate.
Usually, the
deceased patient would be peacefully lying in bed, and a few loved ones
would be gathered around. Since the goals of hospices include giving
comfort to those who are terminally ill, there are no "Code Blues" or heroic
attempts at resuscitation. There are usually no I.V.'s or monitors in
the room. To "pronounce" a patient, the intern would simply place
a stethoscope over the patient's heart and listen for heartbeats or
breathing for a period of time. When none were heard, a gentle nod
would let those in attendance, usually a few family members and the nurse,
know that the patient had officially died. Sometimes there would be
sobbing and distress on the part of the loved ones, but other times the
family members would be well prepared for death, and would engage in some
small talk with the intern. Usually the patients were elderly, and the
loved one would remark how "he had lived a full life" and such. I, as
the intern, would certainly agree, but work needed to be done back at the
hospital, and I needed to get going if there was any hope of getting sleep
that night.
I remember one Saturday night on call that I
was paged by the hospice nurse. It was fairly slow that night, so I
didn't mind taking the walk over to the hospice to do my duty. The
walk down that long, white, sterile corridor was particularly lonely that
night, and I didn't pass by a single other person. At night, the
lights in the hospice hallways were always dimmed, and the nurses talked in hushed
tones. The nurse pointed me in the direction of the room of the
deceased person, and I approached and entered the room.
As I walked into the room, I was
initially taken aback, and I paused at the doorway. The room was
larger than most, and it was full of people - people of all ages. Young
children were in the room; older men and women; a minister; small groups of
young men and women. All were quiet and solemn. I approached the
patient lying in her bed, and she was neither elderly nor gray. She was a
young and attractive woman in her twenties, who actually looked healthy,
except for the lack of hair on her head. Never having pronounced
someone so young before, and with such a large audience, I awkwardly
positioned my stethoscope in the required place on the patient.
Without a word, I gave the obligatory nod. Sobbing and crying followed
throughout the room. The young woman had died from metastatic
melanoma, and left behind children and parents, family and friends. I
felt dazed, and the reality of her shortened life swept over me. There
was no comfort in rationalizing about her long and full life, because she
had not yet lived a long and full life. I felt that she had been cheated,
succumbing to a cruel
and merciless disease without deserving it, without reason. I felt a
great sense of hopelessness and pointlessness of life. In my
confusion, I had no words of comfort
to offer.
However, I then noticed a necklace with a small cross hanging from her neck,
and the minister in the room began to speak. My confusion and
hopelessness soon gave way to a sense of peace . . .
Today, many
years and Bible studies later, I know the hope that Christ brings to
seemingly desperate and hopeless situations, like the one above. I know better the peace that only belief in
Christ can give. I know that for the believer in Christ, there is
always a purpose and a reason. In Christ, death is a beginning, not an
end. God's Word gives hope to the hopeless.
I can now see Jesus holding that young woman in His arms and
comforting her with works like:
"I tell you the
truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
- Luke 23:43 (NIV)
"I tell you the truth, he who believes has
everlasting life." - John 6:47 (NIV)
"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 14:2 (NIV)
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake
you." - Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and
the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and
the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the
thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it
will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way." - Isaiah
35:5-8 (NIV)
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I
do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be
troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27 (NIV)
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows
me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
- John 8:12 (NIV)
Possibly the
best day in the life of a Christian parent is the day that their child
accepts Christ as his personal Savior. From that point on, parent and
child will be eternally united in Christ, no matter what happens in the
world and in their lives. Nothing, not even death, can separate them.
Their hope and eternal future are sealed.
By
the same token, the best thing that a parent can do for their child is to
accept Christ as his or her personal Savior, and let Christ become the Lord
of his or her life.
How do you
accept Christ as your personal Savior? It's easy -- just ask! If
you are choosing right now to believe Jesus died for your sins and to
receive new life through Him, pray a prayer similar to this to thank Him for
your new life:
 |
Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus died to forgive me of
my sins. I now accept Your offer of eternal life. Thank you for forgiving me of
all my sin. Thank you for my new life. From this day forward, I will choose to
follow You.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
| |
