The Tribune

By Rev Angela C Bosfield Palacious

"WhenPaul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship." (Acts 20:36-38)

Have you had a moment in your life or that of a loved one when you felt that you were looking at death's door? What was the situation? How long ago was it? How did you feel?

I have several moments in my own life:

1. Driving a car and narrowly missing a collision with one coming out of a corner

2. Having a baby at a not so young age, aware of mothers and/or babies who died in childbirth

3. Facing surgery and compelled by the need to put my spiritual house in order just in case.

4. Watching my mother dying after a three-week old cancer diagnosis

5. Watching my father age most gracefully and gently diminish until he died at age 94.

6. Attending to persons in hospital as a chaplain and journeying with them right up to the door

Sometimes it is more of a relief for the person to be out of his/her suffering. It may be a deep loss which seems inconsolable at the time. Often it is unexpected or it may have been predicted but the timing still seemed too soon.

There are other times when the door remains tightly shut and the person turns around and makes a miraculous recovery. Some defy death with several close calls that mystify the medical team and may be attributed only to prayer.

There is another door which is closed and Our Lord stands outside knocking. This is the door of our hearts. If we open this door and allow the Lord in, then the door to death is only a doorway or threshold and we pass straight through into a larger life:

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev. 3: 19-20)

We may not want to die and leave unfinished business. We may not want to leave loved ones before we would have journeyed with them further. Since we do not know the day or the hour, we need to be spiritually prepared for any possibility that will one day be an eventuality.

Once you have made peace with God, you can then live with the comforting thought that when you come to find yourself at death's door, you do not stand alone. The Lord Jesus Christ stands with you and ushers you through. This is a blessing too good to not share:

"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).

We all need to know that God loves us, is with us, and wants to help us to go through every door of difficulty when it arises, over every hurdle of hardship when it appears, and around every obstacle that threatens to throw us off course. Under the powerful influence of God our Creator's Holy Spirit, following the example of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we can develop an open door policy that enables us to embrace life in all of its abundance of joy and sorrow.