Life Revolving
As I walked into the hospital room, I took in a deep breath at the sight of my dear old friend lying in the bed that looked huge compared to her now withered body. Her usual slight frame was reduced to skin stretched over bone. The IV they had given her looked the size of her arm itself.
The click of the door closing behind me made her look my way, and she smiled. Although everything about her seemed to be deteriorating, her eyes and smile looked just the same. It was a relief to see.
“Hey there, kiddo.” I talked delicately to her, almost in a whisper, not really knowing why. There was a chair placed very close to her bed. I sat in it. I could smell the medicine coursing through her veins.
“Landon! I’m so glad you came!” Her once melodic voice sounded tired and grainy.
I wasn’t sure what to say next. All I could do was try not to stare at her emaciated body, the IV, and the monitors around her. Trying to be nonchalant in a hospital room with a dying friend didn’t really work.
“Um, how…how ya feelin?”
She smiled again and rested a bony hand on my arm. “I don’t really think you want to know. And I can tell you’re uncomfortable.”
When she paused to take a breath, I jumped in. “No! No, I’m not uncomfortable at all!”
Her assessing eyes told me she knew I was lying. “Landon, I haven’t seen you in a long time, and then I had my son call you and ask you to come see me. Don’t try and tell me that this isn’t even a little uncomfortable for you.” She smiled wide and her eyes danced. “I didn’t bring you here to see your old friend before she dies. I wanted you to come because there’s something I really need to tell you.”
I had no idea what she could be talking about. We had been very close, but that was over ten years ago. Back then, we knew everything about each other. What else could there be that she needed to tell me that would make her call before she died? “Alright. Shoot.”
She breathed in as deep as she could, which wasn’t deep at all, and then started speaking. “I’m a Christian.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know.”
She weakly swatted me in the chest with her hand. “That’s not it! The dying need respect and people’s complete attention when they speak, so hush!” Her scow was comical.
“Sorry, go on.” I conceded graciously. It was nice to see she still had her dry sense of humor. “I won’t interrupt again.”
“Good. See that you don’t.” She stopped pretending to scowl and her features smoothed out to the withered yet bloated medicinal face that had greeted me when I had come in.
She began. “Ok, so again, I’m a Christian. This means that I believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He died for our sins, so that we could be set free from our bondage of sin and evil by His forgiveness. Believing this, I know that when I die shortly, I will be welcomed into heaven.”
“Amanda, I really don’t want to hear this right now. I’m sorry, but you’re delusional.”
“No, actually I’m not. There is a Creator. He made the world and everything in it. He loves us so much that He sent a part of Himself, His son, down to earth to die for all of us. The final blood sacrifice for everyone eternally. There is no doubt in my mind that this is true. It’s the only reason that I’m not afraid right now. Actually,” she winked at me, “I’m getting really excited! I’m tired of being sick and not feeling well. It’s going to be great up in heaven and having no aches or pains anymore! Anyway, I really felt lately that I needed to tell you that. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. I was really selfish not telling you about this a long time ago.” She fell silent as she squeezed my hand. Her eyes started to droop closed. The light that had filled her while she had told me her story was slowly leaking from her. Her breathing turned ragged.
I sat and watched her for a long time. What she had said, I had heard a million times before. But the honesty on her face and in every part of her being locked what she said in my mind. Sure, she had always been the happiest person I’d ever known. I wondered if there was a connection to her happiness and her faith.
It was hours before I left that day. As I leaned over to kiss her cheek to say goodbye, she opened her eyes a slit and said, “Landon, all you have to do is believe. Give your life up to Him."
I received a message from her son the next day. Amanda had died a short while after I had left. I was invited to the funeral the following weekend. Just before I hung up the phone, he asked, “Um, Mr. Anderson?”
“Yeah, Luke?”
“This may sound weird, and I’ve never done this before, but I just wanted to ask you…um…do you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” His voice was pretty timid and hushed.
Without knowing I was going to say it, I croaked out, “Yes!”
The following weekend I went to Amanda’s funeral where I met Luke in person for the first time. After the service, Luke found me and instead of talking to me about his mother, he told me that he and his family went to the church every Sunday and asked if I wanted to join them. I couldn’t help but think how odd, yet appropriate it was that at the end of Amanda’s life, she had opened the door to show me what life really was.
