A couple of months ago a Hospice chaplain who attends my church gave me the name and number of a lady who had been in Hospice care and had partially recovered. Rebecca required physical therapy and was not able to get around very well. She had no family in town and had always welcomed the chaplain’s visits. She was not hostile towards the gospel, but had not received Christ. I was hopeful that I would be able to meet her, show her the love of Christ, and share the gospel with her. We had several telephone conversations and I made several attempts to schedule a time to go visit her. Each time, the plans had to be abandoned. My life became a bit chaotic and I lost touch with Rebecca. I thought about her occasionally, wondering how she was doing. I’d make a mental note to get in touch with her and try again to go visit. But life does have a tendency to get busy, and I forgot.
At church Wednesday, this Hospice chaplain told me that Rebecca was in the hospital. He said she was dying. For some reason, it didn’t really sink in. All the people he deals with are dying, and most of them suffer from some type of terminal illness and they linger for some time. I made plans to go visit Rebecca in the hospital Friday after work.
I got a call Friday morning – Rebecca had died sometime during the night. There was no indication that she had turned to Christ before her death.
This was a sobering reminder that tomorrow doesn’t always come.
He is my Delight 