Below is the beautiful story that a Hospice nurse told me. It involves her own life during a painful time and also a sharing opportunity she had with one of her patient families. End of life stories often give us a glimplse of the presence of God. They may allow us to feel comfort and love. A friend of mine who is a hospice nurse told me this precious story. We will call her Kay and listen the to experience that touched her life.
About 20 years ago, there was a Hospice nurse who had to have open heart surgery. After Kay's surgery they sent her home without much pain medicine and she ended up in a terrible pain crisis. At this time she was also concerned about her children who were gathered around her, afraid she was going to die. In the middle of the night Kay was feeling that she could not handle the extreme pain and began praying very intensely that God help her with this overwhelming situation.
In the midst of this traumatic time Kay felt a cool breeze come through the room. Then she felt a softness brush across her face. Even though she had never had an experience like this before, she felt there was an angel that had been present with her in the room. At this point she went into a deep sleep for several hours which relieved her from the pain. When she woke up, the power of the experience made her feel that she was able to cope with the pain that she had.
Twenty years later the nurse was called to make a home visit to a family where the patient had just died. She entered the room which was kept very warm by the family. She found the family gathered around the bed of their father who had just died. They were very emotional and began to tell the nurse the following story. They had been praying very strongly that their father be taken by an angel. They said "we think this may have actually happened because for just about 5 seconds, right before he died, we felt a cool breeze come through the room and then a soft presence. Do you think this could have been an angel?" The nurse was very moved as this reminded her of the profound experience she had 20 years earlier. "yes," she said, "you are right. I believe this was the presence of an angel and let me tell you what I experienced, many years ago."
By these two life experiences coming together, the nurse was able to affirm and validate for the family what they had witnessed. As the nurse was telling me these stories, she had tears again from the beauty of God's loving presence. I hope this story may be used to inspire you also. As we share the stories of God in our lives, we often encourage others to explore the possibility of God in their own lives.
What a touching story. I really enjoyed it.
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