Sister Nel

Today our sister, Nel, turns 84. Yesterday the congregation did our traditional thing, but with a twist. Usually when someone in the church has had a birthday, we put them in the middle of the circle of us around them, pray for them and sing “Happy Birthday” to them. We want everyone to know not only how important they are, but how we all are blessed by them in this wonderful family of God. 

Usually we wait until the Sunday after the person’s birthday. Often there is more than one person in the circle, since several might have had a birthday in the previous week. For Nel we made an exception and sang o the Sunday before her birthday. And since Nel could not be with us where we meet together, we went to her, which is just around the corner of our building. 

In Spring this year I brought Nel to the hospital because of intense abdominal pain. After some examinations and scans and such she received the news that she had an inoperable tumor on her liver. She was sent home with the words that she was ‘terminal’. The doctor had even had the conversation about a “completed life” which is now typical in the Netherlands. IN other words, did she want to be euthanized. 

Nel made very clear to everyone in the doctor’s office (another specialist and a nurse as well as the doctor) that God is good and whether she were to die today or tomorrow or months or years from now, her life was in God’s hands. She was not going to presume to play God over her own life. 

So Nel has been waiting since the Spring to go Home to her Heavenly Father. But it has taken much longer than she had expected. She is still living on her own at home, cooking most of her meals and even doing some of her own cleaning. A nurse comes every day to check on her and clean her. Another helper comes once a week to clean in the house. And Nel wonders when she will get to go Home. 

In the meantime, she has been able to mend to a point a break with her daughter and has been able to regularly see her daughter and granddaughters. She is so grateful for these moments. She had never thought she would even make it to this birthday. But here she is. And there we were, gathered around her door to pray for her and sing to her and let her know how much wee love her. 

Of course we love her more than just this day. Several sisters visit her every week, taking her soup, reading with her in the Bible (one of her favorite activities), doing some cleaning or just talking. I see her every Tuesday to get her shopping done and take out her trash. And we all call or let her know how much we love her. 

One of these days in the future we will get a call and Nel will not be here anymore. She will have gone Home. But for now, we can still enjoy her in our lives. And we are so thankful that we got this time to be together with her again.