PEACE WITH DEATH.

[Kevin Fulton]

II recently witness the blessing of a man being at peace with death in a way i would hope to be when God calls on me to leave this world. He was told of his illness and was given a very short time. " BY THE GRACE OF GOD ", he was surrounded with love from his family and many friends over the period of his hospital stay. I visited him one saturday morning as it was and will always be a moment i'll always remember.

Upon arriving at the hospital i entered the room and he immediately acknowledged me. That was a good sign. We briefly talked, before he asked for me to pray for him. I responded, " I'm not going to pray for you, but i'll prayer with you for us ". My reasons for that statement was because i too was experiencing an illness, inwhich i am in need of prayer. The big picture of this visit was that, i witness someones serious condition, that has been given a time limit on life, however, there was no sign of anger or resentments with this brother. He had the kind of smile that represented the level of peace i would have never imagined.

We prayed and i stayed for a few minutes before leaving to attend a community service event that i volunteer for each month. That day brought some new light on my thinking in so many ways. Personally, i knew that i have so much work to do on me to ever reach that state of mind, " being at peace with death ". WHY ?

On the Monday morning following that visit, i decided to go visit my beloved brother again, after getting off work that morning. That night at work, ( during 3rd shift hours ), i thought about what i experienced. I went home and got fresh, then went to the hospital to visit my friend again. I took two daily meditational books by Billy Graham. As i entered the room around 8am that morning, i saw my friend stretching. I said aloud, " that's what's up ", good morning main man. He smiled, and i took a seat and we briefly talked. I asked him could i read for him, he shook his head giving me the ok. I read the meditations for that day. They both had a great message for the day. However, one was addressing the power of love, as written in the Bible. Love is something that this brother is known for, because of the way he was with all mankind. He had a way of giving unconditional love, and he recieved such love in return from his family, " ESPECIALLY FROM HIS MOTHER ". We prayed again and i left, hoping to see him later that day. The hold time during the visits he was bright eyed and smiling as he would on any given day. Later i thought about this, a nurse came in while i was visiting and asked him how was he doing, he responded, good. She asked him about his level of pain, " Did he need any meds ", he said no i'm ok. No pain, smiles, alert and able to communicate just find. I thought of this as being he was on his way to a recovery. However, it was better than that. He was at " PEACE WITH DEATH ", and the prayers had prepared him for that life on the other side. That same day hours after my last visit he pasted. He was in the presence of his family, and yes, his " MOMS ", was there holding his hand.
This experience has got to be one of the most humbling moments of life and death. I'm very grateful to have learned one of the most valuable lessons of life and death. I'm convinced that God has accepted this brothers life and death to be that of " LOVE ". We will miss you my friend, but never forget the impact of the " LOVE ", AND JOY YOU BROUGHT TO MANY OTHERS JUST BY BEING YOU ".

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORIES OF MY FRIEND: JOE "JB " BARNES , PEACE BE WITH YOU !!!