The End

As we were sitting by Grandma's bedside recently, Mom looked at me, with tears in her eyes, and said, "If we knew how we would die, what are end will be, it would terrify us." Perhaps it is one of God's greatest mercies that He doesn't let us know the future, that it unfolds only at a pace He knows we can handle. If we knew what lay in store for us, we would worry and fret constantly, never trusting in God. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

When it is ravaged by disease, the body just wastes away and the physical person you see in the coffin is not the person you knew. Watching my grandmother in her final days is just as painful for us as for her. She is wasting away from the cancer and in terrible pain. Even her morphine drip just barely covers the pain. Each time I have to leave and say goodbye, it gets a little harder. We want her to be with Jesus, pain free. Having to say goodbye yet again is hard, especially when she is not completely there mentally, just physically.

Watching a loved one die a painful, excruciating death makes it easier to understand the mindset behind euthanasia. When the suffering is so great, we want to end it and let the loved one find peace. The catchphrase "dying with dignity" is an appealing concept when you see just how ugly dying can be. But knowing that God is sovereign obviates any desire to take matters into our own hands. And dying with dignity does not mean taking life and death into your own power. The humanistic definition of that phrase is "saving face" or dying "on my own terms." Instead of allowing God to use your suffering to witness to others about His saving grace, humanists seek to rob God of that glory by preemptively ending life.

My Grandmother, although she is suffering greatly, and it is not pretty, she is dying with dignity in that she still glorifies God whenever she is able. She does not whimper, she does not complain, she patiently awaits her reunion with Christ. That is the definition of dying with dignity. When anyone walks into her room, they see the peace that fills her face and wonder that someone in such great pain can still look so peaceful. That is a peace that surpasses all understanding. What a witness that in your darkest hour, when you cannot speak or physically communicate, your spirit can still attest to your Savior's glory. My Grandmother is a daughter of God and she will very soon be with Him. Although it is hard to say goodbye, we do so knowing that she is about to experience the greatest day of her life--when she sees Him face-to-face.