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Witness to the Dying
by Janet Riley My mother was a WWII veteran, a lawyer and a person who made it through life in the power of her own efforts. She grew up in an era where you did not show your emotions, and did not discuss personal things like religion. In her mind, God started the universe, and turned the key to wind it up. Then He sat back and watched. That was the total of His involvement with creation. I was a puzzle to my mother. I committed my lfe to Christ and my spiritual journey was a source of confusion to her. I remember once she started to actually ask me a question about the Holy Spirit, and the telephone rang. That was the end of the conversation. She did see some changes in my life, as God worked in me, to change my attitudes. Fast forward many years, and my mother was diagnosed with very advanced cancer. She did not belong to a church or want to talk about God. As she became more aware of what was happening to her, she began to open up and talk about personal and spiritual topics. God brought a pastor into her life that also used to be a lawyer. He had compassion and caring, but also could meet her on her intellectual level. She was trying to use reason to understand God. Over the course of her illness, there were times I took off work, and times on weekends, to be with her. At one point she told me that she knew that I loved her. The pastor had asked her to read the first 2 chapters of Acts. I offered to read them to her. We started talking about God. I told her that God was a personal God who cared about the details of our lives. I shared some examples from my life when He guided and directed me. Then she reached out for my hand and let me pray for her, to seek that personal God. One of the greatest joys of my life was to open the doors to Eternal Life to the one who gave me the gift of earthly life. Let those who are dying know you love them unconditionally. That can open the doors to sharing about Jesus, the God who is personal and cares. (C) Janet Riley, 2014. I know God as a personal God who communicates with us, if we listen. I am starting on a Christian writing career and open to where God leads me. Please review my other articles at FaithWriters. I would like to hear from you. Please email at [email protected]. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |