I went to go visit Ms. J for Bible reading on Thursday. We got on the topic of church and she said she hadn’t been to church since her mother died in 1940-something. I asked her why and she said that she didn’t want to. Then I asked her if she had ever confessed that she was a sinner and asked Jesus to save her from her sins. She said no. I told her that the Bible says that all of us are sinners and I asked her if I could read it for her. She said yes, so I read part of Romans 3 to her.
Then she changed the topic and talked about her nurse since she had been having trouble with her nurse and asked something like, “Why God would allow someone to be so mean?” I then ended the night praying for her and asking her to think about what we talked about, which she said she would.
Then on Sunday after service I was talking to another resident when Ms. J called out my name. I told her I would be there in a second and after I finished with the first resident. I went over to her and she said that she had been thinking about what we had been talking about. I was really surprised because Ms. J isn’t very coherent and I thought that I would have to somehow bring up this topic again. She then started to talk. She had regrets about how she treated her brother in the past. Recently she found out that he was sick. She also told me that she never should have stopped going to church, but after her mom died she didn’t know what to do. She also told me that she had regrets about her father. The whole time she was crying. Then I asked her if she wanted to ask Jesus for forgiveness, and she said yes and kept saying, “Please forgive me.” Then I asked her if she wanted to repeat a prayer after me to which she said yes. I prayed a basic prayer in which she confessed that she was a sinner and asked for forgiveness, and made Jesus Lord and savior over her life.
After we prayed I asked her, “Ms. J, do you know what’s happening in heaven right now?” And she asked what and I told her “The angels are celebrating.” I asked her how she felt, and she said she felt good. And I could tell that she was relieved. I feel so privileged to be able to lead Ms. J in the prayer and be with her during this time.
