Life is in the Birds
The year is 1998. I am serving as an associate medical director for a Hospice center in North Florida. Over a 3 year time period, I was privileged to interact with patients who were nearing the end of their earthly existence. My responsibility was to introduce Hospice care to patients most of whom had little knowledge about the why, where, and what of hospice.
My prayer was to be as sensitive as possible to persons who were entrusting their care to a new physician, a new health care team, and a new model of care that utilized comfort rather than curative care. In spite of this, each patient manifested a unique gentleness, wisdom, insight, and love that changed my life forever. I am reminded of the scripture found in 2nd Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness.” This scripture seemed to come alive in each of these patients.
Consider John, a 50 year-old gentleman admitted to Hospice care. Although it has been sixteen years since I met him, his insightful words remain deeply embedded in my heart. He is the reason I listen to the birds sing.
John had felt stomach pain for months. He had built up a tolerance to the pain until one night its severity awakened him from sleep. Along with this excruciating pain came the urge to have a bowel movement, which he thought would ease the stomach pain. But when there was only blood in the toilet bowl, John hurried to the closest hospital emergency department. Then, when the doctor informs him that the problem is colon cancer, his heart started to beat fast. Even more disturbing was to learn that the cancer had spread throughout his body. To add to this misfortune, there was no curative medical treatment that would be safe or helpful. So, he was referred to Hospice for comfort care.
As John lay in a Hospice bed, he spoke warmly about his loving family. He worked long hours to support them–ignoring the pain in his stomach. Now it made sense why he felt tired all the time, most noticeable at the end of the day. John would feel so guilty because soon after dinner, he would fall into a deep sleep. When he heard the birds sing, he knew it was time to rise up and get to work. He used to dread hearing the birds sing. Now, realizing that his life journey is nearing the end, John exclaims NOW, that he longs to hear the birds sing.
Life is replete with circumstances that steal away valuable time with life partners, children, family, friends, colleagues, and community. Just like John, there will come a time when we’ll want to hear the birds sing, when we’ll want to get better, when we’ll want to spend time with loved ones, when we’ll want to say I love you, when we’ll want to say, please forgive me, and it just might be too late. When was the last time you heard the birds sing? What was their melody? What were the lyrics? What was their message to you?
