Holy Ground

I spent Sunday afternoon at the hospital with my young friend Michele. Michele was watching her mom live her last day on earth. My sweet friend is a new believer...a year into this new found relationship with Jesus. The body of Christ is new to her..she said several times that day, as her church family came and went, "How could I ever face this day without my new family"  Her biological family was nowhere around. I offered to pick up her brother but he was not interested or ready to come say good-bye yet. I knew I was watching the body of Christ in action. I knew I was witnessing the church do what it was meant to do. People that had never met this dying woman, bent over and caressed her face, prayed over her. The Holy Spirit was in the room, heavy, I could feel it so clearly....even though  this soul in that bed had never confessed Jesus out loud. In fact, had denounced and ridiculed her daughter for loving this JESUS. Michele and her mom didn't have the typical mother/daughter bond...yet Michele became Jesus to the elderly woman in her last days. The mom's body lay curled up in the cold hospital bed as she struggled to breath. I felt like was a fly on the wall, possibly intruding on this sacred moment. But as we circled that bed, we never wanted to lose a moment of praying and singing over this precious lady, for we knew she would be walking into eternity before a new day dawned. Our prayer is that in the midst of the medication, in the midst of the pain, in the midst of trying to breath, that Debbie knew her daughter was right, Jesus is the answer, that she knew that people around her were the real deal, it was Holy Ground...right there in room 2405....

"Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!"

I cannot end this without sharing that 12 hours before Michele's mom took her last breath....Michele's son was baptized in front of his new family...all of his adopted aunts and uncles that adore his little face! Michele has started a new story for her precious son. A story that will not end like her mom's....she has said to me before...

"AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE,
 WE WILL SERVE THE LORD"

I'm so thankful that somewhere along the way, God's people reached out to this darling daughter of HIS and she is a new creation. She has a testimony like I've never heard before. She is strength and beauty..only because our Savior is overwhelmingly GOOD!!