I want to share this testimony with someone who wonders if God even notices you on earth or if anything good can come from you. This is exactly how I felt at that moment. This experience has shifted my perspective on how I see God and the circumstances of life.
“Just so you know, dear friends, this testimony will be a little bit long, but hang tight, you can do it! Get some tea and enjoy the story. I pray that it blesses you, and thank you for your time.”
I remember when I desperately needed a job. So, my prayer to God was “God, please, a bucket and a mop will do!” which means whatever job He allows me to find, I’ll do it. At that time, all I had was a Home Health Aid certificate. It wasn’t even the Certified Nursing Assistant license. So, my chances of finding a job in that field were minimal. And it wasn’t easy to find other jobs in North Miami. So, I finally found an agency that called me back. The location was over an hour away, and I had to go there to fill out some paperwork before I started working. Three days later, I was sent to a client who lived almost two hours away from where I lived. Since I told God that if He would give me a bucket and a mop, I would take it. I figured a four-hour drive back and forth was even better than a bucket and a mop, so I accepted the job. And God, who is so good and gracious, planned things so strategically that the lady from the agency told me that the job is a Live-in from Mondays to Wednesdays, which means I would need to stay at the client’s home for four days. Therefore, I only needed to drive four hours a week; what more could I ask for?
So early Monday morning, I went to work. The client I was sent to was a Jewish man named Nat in his late 70s. He weighed 250 lbs, was bedbound, and lived alone. He suffered from COPD, had gangrene on his legs from diabetes, and had heart failure. The other caregivers who worked for Nat had known him to be that angry, grumpy, not easy to get along with, stubborn client. I know this to be a true statement because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Nat had a call light button to get assistance, but Nat preferred to yell.
The previous caregiver showed me the room where I can stay and put my bag. It was a small storage room with medical and household pieces of equipment. There was a bed occupied with many heavy things and a chair. I managed to use the chair and rest my feet on the side of the bed. And as I was thinking whether I could handle this case, my thoughts were interrupted by a yell from Nat, who wanted me to get the TV remote from his hand to turn on the TV and to get him something to drink. As I assisted him and tried my best to keep my cool, all I could see in his eyes was pain, anger, sorrow, and regret. And when the time came to give him a bed bath, I had to think twice about this job. I realized that when I accepted the job, I did not factor in that Nat weighed 250 lbs and could move slightly from side to side, and I weighed less than 100 lbs. According to my job description, I had to reposition him every two hours and change him every four hours. Therefore, when I finally finished with the bed bath, I went back to the small room, regretting the fact that I had signed myself up for complete torture. Nat kept yelling every 10 to 15 minutes, and I had to try my best to deal with him gracefully. Sometimes, I would show up even before he yells, so I could get to know him better and see how I could get him to calm down. I talked to him based on what he liked to talk about. So that evening, I decided to ask him if I could do evening worship with him since I knew there was no way for me to read the Bible without interruption. To my great surprise, my request was granted, and I was so shocked by his response that I had to pinch myself. So, I quickly went to get my Bible, prayed with him, and started reading about Jesus. A few minutes into the reading, I noticed that Nat’s demeanor changed. He was angry and told me to stop the reading because he didn’t want to hear about Jesus. I was perplexed and didn’t know what to do about his outrage. So, I went to the small room and said, “God, I don’t think I can handle this job after this week. I can’t even read the Bible, and it feels like a concentration camp here. Do you have another bucket and mop? I am willing for whatever else you have, God, but not this one, please!”
A LITTLE BIT OF NAT’S BACKGROUND
Even though I don’t like to be involved or witness family drama when working with clients, I have always had to witness some family issues with my clients. Somehow, I had to offer emotional support and proper encouragement. In Nat’s case, he was a father of four children, three sons and a daughter, who distanced themselves from him even before their mother passed away. Though I didn’t know the exact reason, I did not doubt that Nat’s character had to do with it. His children would FaceTime him once in a blue moon for less than 10 minutes. They only cared that Nat had his credit card ready for whatever he needed, but they didn’t have a healthy relationship with him. I’m sure this contributed to Nat’s anger and frustration at 10, all day, and even at night.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WAY THE OTHER CAREGIVERS DEALT WITH NAT
Two other caregivers were working in that case. A lady who works on Thursdays and Fridays, and a man who does the weekend. Their approach was to be as rude to Nat as he was to them and leave him alone as much as possible. So, they would mostly leave him unattended, especially the caregiver who works during the weekend. No wonder there was a big wound on his back and along his buttocks.
The next Monday, God gave me the courage to go to work. When I arrived, I realized I had to do double the work concerning his morning care routine because he had not been touched since Friday. I took a deep breath and did what I had to do. Thus, it felt like I was trapped in an inescapable torment. However, I noticed that Nat was happy to see me that Monday morning, even though I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be too excited about that.
THE TRANSFORMATION/CHANGE
On the second day of week two, I noticed that my conversation with Nat had gotten a little easier. As I tactfully selected what to talk about, I could finally get a smile on his face, and he had such a radiant smile. And through our conversations, I discovered that Nat loves ice cream. So, ice cream became our ‘agreement language’, and little by little, things started to change. Nat yelled less frequently and sometimes used the call light when he was in the mood. Also, he told me about his rabbi coming for church service, so I got him ready. When the people came, I stood by them in case they needed help, and they had a great time together with Nat.
Nat started to smile even more often. I watched TV with him, prepared his favorite meal, and gave him ice cream. There was little to no yelling during the second week, and that’s when I realized that anger was not his last name, nor was it his identity. Also, I realized that he didn’t need to hear about Jesus, but he needed to see and feel Jesus. He needed to feel understood and know that somebody cares. He needed to feel that he mattered and was not just a total of his mistakes. By the end of the second week of work, and since I couldn’t read the Bible with him, I remember telling him I would be in the small room for a little while to read my Bible. I will never forget the joy that filled my heart when I heard him say that I could come and read the Bible to him. I had to pinch myself and confirm we were on the same page. I told him I was reading about Jesus, yet he still agreed. So, I sat on a chair facing him and read the Bible to him for almost twenty-five minutes, and he even allowed me to pray for him as a bonus. Therefore, the Holy Spirit had been working in his heart the whole time, and I didn’t even know it.
THE RECONCILIATION
In the third week, I was on my way to work around 5:45 am, and excited to go there. Things could not have been any better than this. I mean, I had no problem reading the Bible there and talking to Nat about Jesus, and let me not forget to mention that there was no more yelling. Going to work felt like going to heaven. Though I still had to prepare my mind to do the extra work that the previous caregivers wouldn’t do, I was more focused on the bright side of it all.
When I got there, I could tell that he was super excited to see me again based on the radiant smile on Nat’s face. However, I also noticed that his face grew pale, and his lips were parched. He also looked like he was gasping for air. Being a little perplexed about his look, I asked the caregiver, and he said his health was declining. Also, he said he didn’t turn or change him because he was afraid he wouldn’t make it through the weekend. My heart sank, and I couldn’t believe what I saw and heard. I started praying, asking God to let him live. I quickly ran to the kitchen to get him something to drink and cleaned him up because the bed was a disaster. So, I changed the sheets and his clothes, and he was very collaborative. He looked a little better after the bed bath, but I could tell that things weren’t the same. I talked to my supervisor about it, and the nurses came to check him and gave him his medications. On the second day, he got a little better and had a better appetite than the day before, and welcomed ice cream anytime. However, the following day, he wasn’t doing too well. I tried to stay as close to him as possible, held his hand, watched TV with him, and tried to talk to him, but he didn’t have much energy to respond. So, I let him rest for a while. Later that evening, I read the Bible to him and prayed with him. Then I felt prompted and asked if he wanted to talk to his children, and he agreed. So, I called one of his sons, and they scheduled a FaceTime call with his other children. I marveled at how God reconciled him with his children. For the first time, Nat could be vulnerable enough to tell his children how he truly felt about them, and they could express how they felt about him. This moment was so emotional to me, and it was even more emotional to them. The call lasted over an hour and a half, and they called him again later that day. God flipped everything around.
THE EARTHLY ENDING TO A HEAVENLY BEGINNING
The whole scenario got me thinking deeply. And as I was heading to work that fourth week, I didn’t know what to expect concerning Nat’s health. I was happy that he reconciled with his family, but sad and scared at the same time. I arrived there to hear the caregiver say that he doesn’t think he’s going to make it this week because his health has deteriorated significantly.
I looked at Nat, who tried to smile at me, but it was buried under so much pain. I tried my best to keep it all together, but what I wanted to do was just wail. He was in so much pain; I tried to feed him, but he wasn’t eating much, not even ice cream, and that’s when I was convinced things were getting worse. During the middle of that day, the nurses came to check on him and give him his meds, but the wheezing and gasping for air wouldn’t subside. Throughout the day, we had no conversation because Nat couldn’t talk. I read the Bible to him, prayed, and whispered in his ears that Jesus loves him, and he could tell Him what’s in his heart, mind, and things troubling him. I could see him closing and opening his eyes as he calmly listened to me.
On day two of week four, Nat barely had ice cream for breakfast and wouldn’t eat anything else. His fingers started to turn blue; his lips were dry, no matter how much I moisturized them. All I could hear was a loud wheezing sound, and all I could see was Nat, tired of suffering. I remember talking to a friend that day who is an LPN, and I was telling her about Nat and this other strange noise that I started hearing, which was different from the wheezing. That’s when she told me that it was the sound of death rattles. That’s when it dawned on me that I was about to lose him that day, and that’s when I realized that I was on an assignment the whole time and did not even know it. So, I quickly hung up the phone with my friend and went to Nat. I held his hand and started praying in his ears even more fervently, asking God to forgive his sins and asking Nat to confess in his heart his sins to Jesus. And something prompted me to ask him this question: “Nat, do you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? And I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him nodding his head since he couldn’t speak. For a moment, I thought I was daydreaming about what was happening. So, I asked him again and he nodded the second time. I told him that heaven rejoices over him and that all is well, and he could rest in peace, and then I ran to the room to cry. I cried for so many different reasons. I got emotional over what God was doing and how God saved his soul. I also cried at the fact that I was losing him so fast. Then I felt this fear that suddenly came upon me because it was getting dark, and it was my first time dealing with a dying client in his home. So, I called 911 and went back to the room to see if he was still breathing. I started to pack my things, and an hour later, around 7:30 pm, there was a sudden complete silence. So, I went to check on Nat, and there he lay on that bed, lifeless. I was devastated; I didn’t know that I had gotten so connected to him in less than four weeks.
When the people finally came to pronounce him dead, it hit me like a ton of bricks that he was gone in such a short time. I talked to the supervisor, and she told me to take his photo ID and his credit card with me to bring them to her office the next day.
THE REVELATION
That night, on my way home, I realized that when I had asked God for a bucket and a mop, God was thinking about His Kingdom. All this time, I was thinking and asking God for a job to pay my rent, God was thinking about who he could send to save a soul. It was that night I received a revelation of how strategic God is and how short life is. I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about it, and when I finally fell asleep, I woke up from a strange dream. And the dream confirmed that what took place was a win from the heavenly realm. God snatched Nat’s soul from the devil’s teeth. And in the dream, I was being attacked by a woman in Nat’s front yard. She was dressed as a health care professional as they came to pick up Nat’s body. The lady wanted to kill me, and I didn’t even know why in the dream until it was revealed to me later that it was because I cared for Nat. There was also a man in the dream who dressed as a healthcare professional, and he wouldn’t let the lady touch or hurt me, no matter how hard she tried.
There are two things I’ve learned from this experience. The first thing is that God listens carefully to our prayers when we pray, and He also cares about the lost sheep. And second, God opened my understanding to see that the whole thing was about a fight between the two realms.
God won that battle and will continue to win every battle because Jesus already won the war. Therefore, the enemy is already defeated in Jesus’ Name. To God be all the Glory, Amen!
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