Ann's Jesus

Today I went to pick up the belongings of my best friends mother, Ann. For the past 15 years she had lived in a nursing home. She died two weeks ago. It is sobering to realize that a lifetime can be held in just a few boxes.

As I was leaving the home, two significant things occurred. The first was a nurse named Janice came running after me to express to me what a blessing Ann had been to everyone. “She was a light in the darkness. This is a Jewish home, you know. But, Ann was always ready to pray with anyone who would come to her room. Even though she was going through what she was going through, she managed to touch the lives of others. God placed her here for a season and she was just waiting to go home. She used to tell me that if I didn’t see her anymore, not to worry. I would be sure and meet her again. In another place.”

The maintenance man loaded the cart with her things and we walked down the empty hallway to my car. Ann’s collection of things amounted to a few boxes, a television, and some pictures that she had hung on the wall of her small room. As the man pulled the cart filled with a lifetime of memories into the parking lot, the pictures fell off the top and the second significant thing occurred. The framed picture of Jesus broke. Glass shattered everywhere and the only thing left of the picture was Jesus. I began to weep as I understood the significance of this. For Ann, the picture of Jesus had graced the wall of her room for years. He had held together for her the brokenness of her life and had made possible the hope she had brought into the lives of others. But, she is at home now and doesn’t need a reminder of Him. His words to her are the words that have been echoed down through the ages, “You are my beloved. On you my favor rests.” Ann is in His presence, because Jesus doesn’t break.