Tuesday, February 23
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
When I say this verse, the first thought that comes to me is the last day of my husband’s life, June 22, 2014. Carroll had been in the hospital for a week and we had been told that he was nearing the end of his life. We opted to put him on Hospice at home, which is what he wanted. And late on the afternoon of June 22, the ambulance brought him home. The attendants literally dumped him into his hospital bed and you could tell he was uncomfortable. There were sheets bunched up under him and he was at an angle. I tried to help him but he was too weak and my ministrations only gave him pain. He kept telling me he was okay but I could see he was uncomfortable.
I was so upset I went to the living room and started crying. “God, please tell me what to do,” I kept saying. Then the telephone rang. It was my friend, Rachel, from church. “May I come over and help you?” she asked.
I think I must have screamed “Yes!”
A short time later Rachel arrived. She was able to get all the extra sheets out from under Carroll without hurting him and she even washed him up. He was so grateful and kept telling her how much he loved her for this. I felt like God had gifted me with my own angel.
Rachel sat with me after caring for Carroll and talked to me about Hospice and what it would provide. She made me have something to eat and made me feel much better. She said she would be back after she got off work the next day to see what help she could provide.
After Rachel left, I sat with Carroll who was much happier and more talkative. He died the next day shortly before being taken into Hospice. But, thanks to Rachel, the two of us had a wonderful time talking before he died.
I like to think of this verse as saying “Give Us This Day Our Daily Needs.”
Thanks be to God for people like Rachel. Amen.
–Ellie Kell