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"Please Say Goodbye to Jesus For Me"

This one is a little long but well worth the reading!

This from a collected work of the former Mike Yaconelli, a pioneer and mentor to many in youth ministry. This is a summary from a November 2000 article.

Due to illness a reluctant youth volunteer, Daryl,  attended the nursing home church service the local youth group conducted once a month. He felt awkward and out of place and chose to stand in the back against the wall. Just as the service was ending someone grabbed his hand. Daryl looked down to see a very old man in a wheelchair holding tightly to his hand. His name was Mr. Leak and he was still and expressionless. As everyone began to leave Daryl did not want to leave Mr. Leak but knew it was time to go. He leaned over and whispered, "I'm...uh..sorry, I have to leave. I will be back. I promise." Mr. Leak responded by squeezing Daryl's hand and then let go. Daryl's eyes filled with tears and inexplicably said, "I love you."

Daryl came back month after month as promised and would stand in the back holding Mr. Leak's hand. Each time it was time to go he would lean over and say, "I love you, Mr. Leak." Six months passed and the day came that Mr. Leak wasn't at the service. Daryl asked a nurse who lead him to Mr. Leak's room.

Mr. Leak lay in his bed, his eyes closed, and his breathing uneven. Daryl slowly walked over and grabbed Mr. Leak's hand. He was unresponsive and before long Daryl was crying next to this man's bed. As Daryl got up to go he saw a young woman standing at the door. It was Mr. Leak's granddaughter. She went on to say, "I wanted to meet you. When the doctors said he was dying, I came immediately. We were very close. They said he couldn't talk, but he always talked to me. Not much, but I knew what he was saying. Last night he woke up. His eyes were bright and alert. He looked straight at me and said, 'Please say goodbye to Jesus for me,' and he lay back down and closed his eyes. I whispered to him 'Grandpa, I don't need to say goodbye to Jesus. You're going to be with him soon, and you can tell him hello.' He struggled to open his eyes again, but this time his lit up with a mischievous smile that he only gave to me, and he said clearly as I'm talking to you, 'I know, but Jesus comes to see me every month, and he might not know I've gone.'"

May we be Jesus to someone in our life today!

Comments

This Is Stupid said…
Sweet story! So glad you have a blog Amber. Or should I say Amberuh?
October 23, 2009 at 3:36 PM
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