The gift of healing, or a gentle sleep in your arms.

October 5, 2007 by Pastor Dan.

Yesterday I went to the hospital to see our dear brother Larry, who is close to death. Spiritually he is prepared to surrender his life back to God, trusting always in God’s grace. With other dear friends, we held on to him, prayed with him, and asked him to give us a sign about his desire to continue the invasive treatment that is preserving his fragile hold on life. Finally it was time to say goodbye.

It was with tearful relief that a lady spoke to me, in the elevator when I got on at the 4^th floor. Was I a chaplain or minister? she asked. (Of course, I was dressed in clerical garb with a cross around my neck. You can never hide.)

She was hoping to find a hymn book, she said. Her story tumbled out as we descended the elevator together. On the next floor up, her mother is gravely ill, and has been hospitalized for weeks. Eighty years old, her mother has a favorite hymn, but the daughter cannot remember all the words to it, to comfort her. Mother and daughter are trying very sincerely to remain connected with one another throughout this health trauma, and to stay connected with their spiritual roots. Perhaps they have wandered from the church they once new. It doesn’t matter, really, and I was not going to interrogate her about such things.

I asked her mother’s name. Odette. I offered to bring a spare hymnal to the hospital tomorrow, and also to pray for Odette. I gave her my card, hoping that she will call me, since I didn’t get the room number or the family name.

I am still thinking and praying about these women, and prayer keeps coming up in me. I hope that the daughter does call me. But for now, I am keeping my promise to pray for her mother Odette. And, of course, for our brother Larry, hoping that if it is God’s will to take him, that his death will be like gentle sleep.

We pray to you O Jesus, the divine Healer of the sick and Physician of all souls. We come to you with empty hands but open hearts, asking simply for your mercy and gentle love. You have stood with us and helped us carry the burdens of illness, as we care for our loved ones. Time and time again you have given us the gift of healing.

But now, Lord, we place our worries for our loved ones completely in your hands. We commend to you our brother Larry, and our sister Odette, and humbly ask that you grant these, your servants, the strength and the very breath of life. Assure us, that if this is to be their last hour, is it your will to alleviate their suffering graciously, and that you will receive them into your everlasting arms. Help us to accept your will for them, and for ourselves, with the trust and confidence that you always act for the sake of your great love for all, and that you are with us in our pain, our fear and our sorrow. Amen.

— Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

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