OUR NEIGHBOR
Posted in CommunityYesterday our sweet neighbor, Mr. Truman, died. He was the
man who donated the organ to the church. Through some well orchestrated (by God) circumstances, we were able to be there
when he died.
As he was reclining in his chair, he told us that he wasn’t afraid to die…that he didn’t really know what came next. The Holy Spirit was totally working through Lance and he explained a few key points with Mr. Truman. Mr. Truman said “I don’t know what you know.” Lance and I continued to share a few more things, and Mr. Truman said he wanted Christ, too. So we prayed with him and he told Lance, “I’m in” and gave a thumbs up. A little over an hour later, he died.
I don’t know how much he understood, but he seemed very willing to
listen and seemed to want to receive. I truly hope we will see him
in heaven.
I don’t quite know how to explain it, but it was such a privelege to be there when that happened, and when he took his last breath. A huge part of what allowed us to be part of that, was that we had developed a relationship with him in which he trusted us and knew we were there to care for him. He did ask, again, why we were taking care of him, which opened the door.
I know it may seem that to reach our neighbors we have to sacrifice our own free time and resources, but the blessing of being there with him and helping him to accept Jesus before he died was an experience that far outweighed any sacrifice of time that we have given to him in the past. I feel so honored and blessed and priveledged to have been able to be there.
I saw another neighbor late that evening and told her he had
died, and she said to me, “Your family is such a blessing to this neighborhood”. She is not a Christian, but she sees that we are trying to help. And that is part of the hope, that they may see our good deeds and praise the father in heaven!!
