Nettie’s Time

Nettie’s Time

[Paul] said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” Acts 21:13-14

Nettie was the nursing home’s sentry. She posted herself in an overstuffed armchair in the center of the foyer. From her command post, she made sure that no one came in the front door without a proper greeting or left without a friendly good-bye. So when I walked in one day and she wasn’t at her post, I was concerned.

“Where’s Nettie today?” I asked the head nurse. “She isn’t in her chair.”

“She didn’t get up for breakfast this morning. She asked to have a tray delivered instead,” the nurse said.

This wasn’t like Nettie. She was usually first in line for breakfast so she would be available to help the other residents take their trays back to the kitchen when they were finished.

“I’m not scheduled to see her today, but I’d like to stop in before I do the rest of my rounds.”

I followed the nurse to Nettie’s room, not knowing what to expect. But there she sat with her trademark smile, resting in bed just as eager to greet me as if she were seated in her armchair near the front door.

I made small talk with her while I checked her vitals and reviewed her recent lab work. Soon, the talk turned serious.

“I know my time is coming,” she said. “My body is wearing out, and my job here on earth is finished. I’m just waiting for the Lord to come get me.”

“But, Nettie, your vitals are all stable; and there’s nothing remarkable in your lab results. You’re just as healthy today as you were last week. Why do you think you’re going home soon? Are you having pain?”

“I’m not having any pain. But I’ve lived eighty-eight great years, and that’s well beyond what I thought I would live. I just know my time is near.”

Three days later, Nettie passed through the veil that separates this world from the next. When her time came, she was ready to go.

TODAY’S RX

We won’t pass through the veil until the Lord says it’s time, but it’s good to be ready for him when he calls.

God, I hope I have as much peace as Nettie had when it comes time for you to call me home. Don’t let me despair the end of my earthly life, but infuse my heart with great hope for what awaits me in heaven.