Knit to the Soul
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.—1 Samuel 18:1 (ESV)
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces—ISAIAH 25:8 (ISV)
Even though we’d hung up, my brother’s voice rang in my ears as I drove to the hospital to visit my dad: “Monica, he told me that he doesn’t want to live like this anymore. Two more weeks, and then he wants to stop any medical support if things don’t improve.”
I was grateful for the 20-mile drive. I’ve worked in hospice and been with people, family even, when they’ve died, but this was different. I pulled over at a rest stop and called my friend, Debbie. We grew up together, and she’s a nurse now. From day one of this hospitalization, she’d been my medical barometer. I’d taken pictures of machines and labs and texted them to her. “Josh called,” I told her. “He wanted to make sure I knew that Dad had updated his form to a DNR now.”
“How are you?” Debbie asked with concern. “How can I help?”
“I’m…I don’t know. We’ve tried to bring in palliative care two other times. And he was never open to it before. This feels…it feels more serious.”
Debbie and I spoke for another 20 minutes. I cried. She listened, and that’s all she needed to do. We hung up. I cried some more, and then prayed in the twilight.
When I arrived at the hospital, I parked, took a deep breath and then walked the tin entranceway ramp in and went to be with my dad.
God, may I remember that tears can be holy and healing, especially with a friend’s shoulder to cry on.
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.—1 Samuel 18:1 (ESV)
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”—Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.—John 15:12 (ESV)