A Good Thing to be in God’s Hands
Emmitt and
Gloria. They were members of the church
I served in South Carolina . I visited them every four to six weeks. They were what we commonly classify as
“shut-ins.” Gloria had been afflicted
with a severe case of arthritis. Emmitt
was suffering from dementia. The two of
them faced challenges the likes of which I’ve never seen. And they faced them together.
Emmitt and
Gloria were a team. They supported and
cared for each other. Love filled their
home. Although Emmitt couldn’t say the
word, “love,” he demonstrated his love for Gloria in many practical ways. Emmitt cleared the dishes from the table and
put them in the dish washer. He emptied
out the dryer and folded and put away their clothes. He gathered up the garbage cans and put them
in the big container out in the garage.
And it was
out in the garage where Emmitt stumbled and fell and broke his right hip. Off to the hospital he went for emergency
surgery. At that moment, these two
loving, caring teammates and lovebirds were separated, never to live together
again.
Emmitt’s
surgery went well but he began to experience complications almost
immediately. Gloria kept a full-time
vigil at Emmitt’s beside, even though stiff chairs and uncomfortable cots
caused her unrelenting pain. Twice she
called me at home. “The doctor doesn’t
think Emmitt has long to live,” she would say.
“Will you come?” I did and each
time Gloria and I were amazed at how Emmitt would bounce back. And as he did, we would wonder, “What does
God have in mind in all of this? Why is
Emmitt still here?”
We got the
answer a few days later. I had stopped
by the hospital to check in our Emmitt.
Gloria and I were talking when suddenly Emmitt grabbed me by my left
hand. His grip was strong. He pulled himself up to a sitting position,
looked me straight in the eye and said in a clear, strong voice, “It is a good
thing to be in the hands of God.”
Gloria and
I looked at each other in complete amazement.
I had never gotten more than a “yes” or “no” from Emmitt in the entire
time I had ministered to him. Gloria
later told me that she couldn’t remember the last time she had heard a complete
sentence from her husband. That Emmitt
has spoken out like that brought Gloria an indescrible joy. The message ministered to her heart…and to
mine.
Looking
back on that incident, Emmitt was simply echoing the words of God Himself
through Isaiah the prophet: So do not
fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will
uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Where do
any of us want to be when our health fails us?
When stress overwhelms us? When
trouble visits us? We want to know that
God is near, that He will wrap His everlasting arms of love around us, to
comfort and to help. According to
Isaiah, that’s what God does. Listen to
this: (God) tends His flock like a
shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart;
He gently leads those that have young.
That good
news was Gloria’s comfort. A few days
later, Emmitt passed into eternity.
Tears of sadness were shed. But
Gloria’s heart was filled with the peace that passes all understanding, the
peace that comes when you know that it is
a good thing to be in the hands of God.
Thank you, Emmitt, for reminding us of this glorious truth.
A "Wake Up With the Word" flashback from 2013