Have you ever had the experience upon seeing someone that it will be the last time you will see each other? Have any of those feelings ever been correct? I sometimes feel as though when someone goes away on a trip or has an invasive medical procedure that this "might" be the last time we see each in this life, but I have had some distinct incidents in which the feeling came during a casual meeting. The most meaningful one was with my grandma.
A number of years ago, I was venturing off to a large medical facility in search of trying to figure out what was causing my dramatic downward health spiral. I visited my grandma two days before the trip. We talk about the trip and all the testing I was going to have. We said good-bye and parted ways. The following day, I needed to stop by her house. She had an electric scooter she said I could use for the trip. I had completely forgotten to take it with me the day before. So, unannounced, I arrived at my grandma's house to retrieve the scooter. Our visit was very brief, lasting only a minute or two. "Hi grandma! I forgot to pick up the scooter yesterday. I just stopped by to get it." My grandma replied it was in the garage and the keys were in the scooter basket. She remarked how great I looked (for indeed I was having one of the best days of health I have had since becoming debilitated with mitochondrial disease).
As I left her house, I glanced back at my grandma. (She did not know I was watching her.) She was struggling to put some dishes away in the cupboard. Her hands and upper body were shaking. As she moved her body, her bright cheerful face melted into a grimace of pain and agony. My heart broke to see her suffering so much. I instantly knew she was hiding much of her pain and struggles to the outside world. She only allowed her body to show symptoms when she was alone and thought no one was watching. As I shut her house door, a message was instilled in my heart: this would be the last time we would see each other in this lifetime. Upon hearing this message, I rejoiced I was having such a great day of health, and my grandma was able to witness it. What a tremendous blessing it is to have her last memory of me when I was having such a spectacular day of health. I still cry at this thought. God certainly gave me an incredible day of health, perhaps solely for my grandma to see me one last time not suffering, but full of energy and vitality.
Indeed, this was the last time my grandma and I saw each other. The next day, I left on my road trip to the large medical facility. That night, my grandma was rushed to the hospital. Her heart stopped while having a CT scan. The doctors revived her, but she never recovered. She was moved to a hospice facility. A few weeks later, she entered eternity. I thank God for that one last visit with my grandma. I thank God for that spectacular day of health. I thank God for lending my grandma to us for so many years. I thank God for sending me the message that that would be the last time my grandma and I would see each other in this world. "Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in His sanctuary: praise Him in the firmament of His power. Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness." (Psalm 150:1-2)
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