Anchored Faith

By Jesse Stroup

Anchored faith and tender friendships can sustain a person with a serious illness. A patient, who I will call Ann, taught me this lesson as she battled Cystic Fibrosis. In my visits with Ann, I learned that she lived with her sister and another close friend. Ann unfortunately could no longer work due to the advancement of her debilitating disease. For numerous weeks, she required breathing equipment and often found herself in health care facilities.

I witnessed Ann’s sister and close friend faithfully care for her day after day. During this time, I also witnessed Ann’s great faith. She impressed me with how kindly she treated the hospital staff, her sister, and her friend, especially as she struggled to breathe. One of the last things that Ann muttered to me still sits with me. “You can have confidence in the person God is making you to be.” In the time that I spent with Ann, I learned many things. I even learned that one of our Lifeline volunteers was her Bible class teacher when she was a young girl. When you listen hard enough and long enough, it’s amazing the things you can learn.

Being physically ill is difficult and strenuous. Caring for a chronically ill family member, too, is hard. As caregivers, our ability to care well for those around us comes from a source beyond our capabilities. The question that often emerges: From where does strength come to help when hope seems darkly veiled? Months after Ann’s passing, I discovered a short but profound verse in the psalms. It seemed to shed light on this question, and I thought of Ann’s sister and friend when I read it. “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146:5). As we care for each other, for those seriously ill and for those that provide care in these difficult scenarios, our hope and help come from the Lord Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.