The EFC is inviting Canadians to share Your Stories of Palliative Care, as we launch the Palliative Care Toolkit, a resource to encourage discussion and help equip Canadians in dealing with serious illness. Contact us to submit your palliative care story. We would be honoured to hear it and share it.
By Jim Curtis
Preparing someone to come to terms with their final days and ultimately their final moments is certainly a time of great significance and can be very emotional. I recently had the privilege to help Melody, a very lonely person, make her peace with her family and with our Lord and Saviour.
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Melody receiving a hug from Jenny Curtis.
Photo supplied by Jim Curtis.
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She had an especially difficult situation, as she had previously been a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. She had left their faith and was subsequently excommunicated and shunned by everyone she knew in that organization, including her immediate family -- all except her daughter who had also left. Consequently, Melody was very alone, and later had to deal with a diagnosis of terminal cancer.
This is when my wife and I first encountered Melody during one of our hospital visits. We sang hymns, explained Bible passages and we prayed with her. We were called to her bedside during her final hours. She could barely smile, but she tried, letting us know that she was comforted by our presence. We played her favourite song, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."
As Melody passed from this world we were left with the sadness, but also the knowledge that her suffering was over, and that she ran her race to receive her prize from the welcoming arms of Jesus. This beautiful dear sister in the Lord passed on the night of June 9 in Springhill, Nova Scotia. I am a pastor here in the town of Amherst and so grateful for this experience. Thank you for this opportunity to share with you His grace and comfort.
Have you witnessed the difference palliative care made for a loved one? If you have an experience that you’d be willing to share on the EFC’s platform, email us to tell us about it. To say thank you, we’ll give you a free one-year subscription to Faith Today, Canada’s Christian magazine, where subscribers can read stories like this recent feature on palliative care.