Where Life and Death Meet: A Reflection from the Heart

Over the past month, I have spent many hours in the hospital, standing at my mother’s side as she faces a decline in her health. These moments have been filled with the hope brought on by small victories and the heartache felt when facing unexpected setbacks; holding conversations with doctors, family and friends while doing the quiet work of advocating for the person who gave me life.

In that time, I have been struck by something I had never fully realized before: hospitals are one of the few places in our society where life and death meet in such close proximity. In one room, a newborn’s first cry fills the air. Down the hall, a family weeps at the bedside of someone who has taken their final breath. In between there are countless people, like my mom, fighting to hold on while others begin the long journey of recovery.

The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die” (Eccl. 3:1–2). In the hospital, these seasons are not separate chapters, but rather simultaneous realities. Birth and death, joy and grief, fear and hope, all share the same corridors.

As I reflected on this familiar passage from Ecclesiastes and these simultaneous realities I’ve experienced each day, I realized that for our CHHSM ministries, this truth is not new. Our work often takes us to the threshold of life and death. We walk alongside people in their most vulnerable moments, offering care, comfort, and dignity. We celebrate new beginnings and mourn with those who are grieving. And in it all, we strive to be signs of God’s presence, reminders that love does not end, even when life does.

I don’t yet know all the lessons this season will teach me. But I do know this: the ministry of presence is holy work. In times when words fail, our presence can speak volumes. In moments when hope feels fragile, our faith can hold steady for those who cannot hold it themselves.

My prayer for each of you is that, whether you are in a season of joy, a time of loss, or somewhere in between, you will feel the peace of Christ that “surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). And that together we continue to walk these corridors of life and death, of joy and grief, of fear and hope, trusting that in all things and in all seasons, God is with us.