those final sweet moments

Lucy Honeysett draws lessons from a patient’s last minutes

As I entered this lady’s bedroom, I could tell she was in her final moments of life. Unable to talk now and in a deep sleep, she seemed to smile as I spoke her name, held her hand, and told her I was there.

There had been many conversations about this moment, and we all knew her wishes. She wanted to remain out of hospital now and stay in her care home without an attempt of resuscitation so that she could have a natural, peaceful, and dignified death. She was a Christian and had told me the last time I visited that she was ready to be with her Lord. Her Bible was still by her bed, a tapestry of Bible verses on her wall, and her calendar for today that the carers had kindly updated on her behalf said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’. What a promise for this moment! So, in the quiet, I prayed. I reminded her that she was deeply loved by our Father, never abandoned or forsaken, and soon, the Lord would come and take her to be with him in heaven for eternity.

There was a gentle knock at the door. Carers quietly came to see that she was comfortable. They clearly loved her as they needed to say their goodbyes and be sure she was peaceful. One carer told me she’d been singing Sunday school songs to her earlier this morning. Another gently combed her hair, knowing just the way she liked it. Some carers thanked her for being so kind and caring to them. I do hope she heard.

Her final moments were calm and quiet. The room felt full of peace. There was no indication of distress or discomfort. I stayed for this short time, her breathing naturally becoming more shallow and less frequent. As life was ebbing away from her, I knew in a matter of moments, she would become more alive than she’d ever been before in heaven. And as I sat by her side, I wondered what was happening in the heavenly realms. What preparations were completing in her new home? Was Jesus preparing to return for her now? I’d recently read these verses that had touched me deeply: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.’ (John 14: 1-4).

Do you, like me, sometimes fear dying? Knowing us so well, our Father has the most beautiful plan for this very moment. For the Christian, whether a death feels sudden, unwelcome, and traumatic, or expected, peaceful, and a relief, we know with certainty that Jesus himself promises to join us in this moment to personally come back and take us to be with him.

Lucy Honeysett is a palliative care nurse now focusing most of her time on leading a new network called Christians in Care that seeks to connect Christians working across the care sector throughout the UK, together encouraging and inspiring one another to live and speak for Jesus! If you know of anyone who might be interested, she’d love to hear from them or you! Please get in touch at christiansincare.org