Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again (Alex Tan)
Lingering somewhere in a place between life and death Ramon gave up and stopped eating because he didn’t want to live anymore. A few days later I was asked to visit with him at the hospital. At first glance it was obvious that his days were numbered. I knelt beside the bed where he was laying, introduced myself and said, “Ramon, your family is very concerned about you. They said you don’t want to live anymore.” He faintly acknowledged my presence and nodded his head yes. “You know,” I said, “not wanting to live is not a bad thing. This world has not been so kind to me that I want to stay in it forever. But the important thing is that you are right with God when you die and are escorted into His presence by the angels.” Let me ask you a question, “Have you made things right with God?” He tried to talk but all he managed to do was nod yes. So I said, “As you lay here, sometimes probably out of it and at other times very aware of what is happening; talk to God and invite Him into your life. Ask Him to help you. And it is possible that with a little faith, a will to live and the Lord’s mercy; you can get up and walk out of here.” I reached over and took his hand and prayed.
As I made my way out down the shiny hospital corridor; I decided to return the following day. There was something about the way he squeezed my hand when I prayed for him; like a desperate man reaching for help that made an impression on my heart. But I did not get the chance; he stepped out into eternity around 2 A.M., having grown weary at age seventy-two under the pain of his struggle.
Life takes many turns and is filled with ups and downs. Most people, even if only for a brief moment, become weary of living. It has been said;God did not promise a days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day,comfort for the tears, and light for the way. There are and have been moments when I longed to say goodbye to this world: when my inability to cope with difficulties pushed me to edge of my capacity to endure.
But as a follower of the Lord I have found time and time again that His strength abides at the end of my own. And when life on planet earth ends—there are better things ahead than any I leave behind.