I just got news that a patient and friend died last week.

Bittersweet.

She’d fought cancer for four years. Her hubby called me to tell me she’d died at home last week. He wanted to thank me.

Odd, isn’t it?

His wife dies and he calls to say “thank you” for giving her hope, encouragement and confidence. “You were the only one who was ever positive and there is no doubt in my mind that the only reason she lived for four years instead of dying within months as the doctors had said she would was that you continually told her that God had a purpose for her life.”

“She was terrified of dying. From the beginning, when the doctors said she only had months to live, she was in hysterics. After you prayed with her the first time, something changed. She started saying that God had something in mind for her. She became an inspiration for everyone around her and was instrumental in helping others who were dying to find hope. She was with several people as their lives came to an end and always noted how peaceful they had become. Her fear of dying became an example of how to live before you die.”

When I asked him how the kids were doing, he simply stated: “they miss their mom; but they’ve seen her live in such a way to know that she is now where she needs to be. It is because of her that they are now very active in church and strong in their faith.”

What better epitaph can you give than that?