Grandmother (part I)

 

Dad sent me an email saying that they referred Grandmother to hospice, and a hospice nurse will assess her in two days. The next day, Dad sent another brief email with the subject line “Mother.” I hesitated before opening it because I feared it might be bad news. 

His short email stated, “She is sinking fast!! Horrible sight. Dad.”

I called Dad to check on Grandmother.

“Grandmother had a bad day yesterday—she is restless. I’ve not seen her eyes open all the way in three days.”

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“She’s not able to swallow, so they gave her meds under her tongue and made her comfortable. Jamie visited Grandmother, and Grandmother opened her eyes briefly but did not know Jamie was there.” 

“I want to see her.”

“I don’t think she will recognize you or know you’re here. I think you should remember her the way you saw her last.” 

    Grandmother is not ready to die because I still don’t think she knows Jesus. She wouldn’t let me have conversations about salvation. 

“That is personal information,” she would tell me.

Before I went to bed, I cried and prayed, “Lord, I want her to meet you so bad because I don’t want her to go to Hell.” 

    She is a wonderful grandmother. I prayed for her salvation for years asking that Jesus would call her to Him. I wish I could do something for her, but I can’t. She must recognize her need for Him and invite Him into her life. I prayed she would be awake enough to do so. I did not know what to pray for—the Holy Spirit would do that for me. 

A lesson for me to learn (part II)

This morning on the way to church, my cell phone rang.  It was Dad.  I knew right away it was not good news.  Dad called to tell me Granddad passed away this morning.  Dad stated that he was in Heaven and with Grandma Freddie.  I told him he couldn’t know that for sure.  As of the last time I talked to him he was going to Hell.  Not comforting words for a grieving person that just lost their loved one.  His salvation lately has encompassed me, and I blurted out the words without even thinking about Dad’s feelings.  Yes, it was what I was thinking, but not what needed to be said.  I don’t know even sitting here, what I should have said.  I guess, I can ask Brother Bill how he normally replies when the person’s salvation is unknown.

Yes Granddad could have within the last few weeks had a personal encounter with the Lord.  The Lord could have personally spoken to him or something that was said before could have finally sunk in.  God could have used my dream to speak to Granddad too.  Or when the Chaplin came by, he could have led him to the Lord.  I hope I can find that out, or the Lord will reveal it to me.

U  If the loved one’s salvation is unclear, are you being careful with your words making sure you are being considerate of the other person’s feelings?  (Everyone wants to think their loved one may be in Heaven even if they may not be.  This should press us even more to witness to our loved ones.)  U

I talked to one of the preachers at my church this past week.  He made the suggestion I could have said to Dad that I hoped Granddad made that decision.  He mentioned focusing on the living and the opened doors my granddad’s death had created such as conversations in leading others to Christ.

U  What open doors have been created for you to witness to a loved one?  U

A lesson for me to learn (part I)

For quite some time now, Joann and I have made a conscious effort to witness to Granddad.  Joann sent him 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN, hoping he would see his need for Jesus.  This past Christmas, I sent him a tract.  On several occasions, I tried specifically to witness to him.  The Evangelism Explosion class I took taught me how to witness.  So one time I even took my Evangelism Explosion note cards into his room to aid me as I witnessed to him.  I hid the cards on my legs, so he could not see them!    

When I went to see him a few weeks ago, I told him I had a dream about him.  He said, “Did I die?”  I told him no.  I told him in my dream I saw a white figure and he (Granddad) was in the distance.  I don’t know if the figure was God, Jesus, or an angel.  The figure said two distinct things:  “Experience Christ for yourself.”  “Do you know Him?”  The reason I remembered these questions so vividly is because I was awoken from the dream nodding my head yes to the question the figure asked.  When I woke up, I did not want to forget the things he said, so I wrote them down.  I don’t know the purpose of the dream but finished relaying it to Granddad.  I did not witness to him this time but told him a lot of people were praying for him and something to the effect that he needed Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.

Dad called last Sunday to let us know Granddad was not eating and drinking much at all, and Hospice was helping out.  Granddad was being kept comfortable and was being given Morphine for the pain.  Dad did not think Granddad would live but a few more days.  I told him I was sorry. 

I wanted to drive down Monday after work to see him again.  Paul said, “I know why you want to see him again.”  He knew I wanted to witness to him again.  But we both knew it was futile.  With Granddad being on Morphine, he would not be in the right state of mind.   The Lord was going to have to do a miracle.

I asked the teachers at school to please pray for my granddad’s salvation.  Tuesday after I asked the teacher’s to pray, two teachers came up to me and asked if they could pray with me right then.  I said sure.  Over and over, the theme in the prayer was for the Lord to call him one more time.

I really wanted to visit Granddad after church on Sunday.  I knew Ashton had baseball practice at 5:30.  The schedule would be tight, but these things are trivial especially because my granddad is dying, and I’m not sure of his salvation.  Paul emailed Ashton’s coach and told him he would be late for practice.

U  What “trivial” activities can be delayed or cancelled so visits can be made to see the loved one?  U

U  What are you doing to help insure your loved one’s salvation?  U

 

Piper, Don. 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN.  Grand Rapids:  Fleming H. Revell, 2004. 26, 31.

The “unsaved”

I was excited about Mom’s funeral and actually told Joann that.  There are a lot of people in my family that I am not sure of their salvation.  I was excited they may for the first time hear the gospel presentation and become saved.  If that were the case, Mom would have thought her death was all worthwhile.  I prayed for them because I wanted nothing more than to see all of my family members in Heaven.

 

 U  Are there loved ones you can be praying for concerning their salvation?  U

 

A lot of our family from out of town came down for the funeral.  Several cousins who live in Ohio drove down.  We don’t get to see them very often, so it was nice to be able to spend time with them.  They were a big help in the kitchen helping clean up after we fed a lot of people.