April 22nd, 2026
Wednesday, April 22nd
A Sermon in a Restaurant
By Nicole Goddard
One evening out at dinner, an elderly woman sat at the table beside our family alone. Our 10 month old locked in on her and charmed her with his 3 toothed smile and jibber jabber. She and I exchanged knowing smiles throughout our dinners and when it was time to leave I stopped by her table to say hi before we left.
What I thought would be a brief greeting turned into a full conversation. She gushed over my family and told me all the things a mother loves to hear. She had 4 children who were the absolute joy of her life and shared some sweet motherly wisdom. As our conversation wound down, she shared that she had just put her husband with dementia in a nursing home because she was dying from pancreatic cancer.
Here’s the thing, she didn’t say this looking for pity nor did she show any signs of fear or sorrow. She said it full of peace and anticipation of heaven. She said it like she was simply going home.
Amidst the imagery of our reading in the book of Revelation today, John shared a voice from heaven stated -
And they did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid to die.
Revelation 12:11 (The Messiah pg. 468)
The fruits of the spirit were on full display in this woman as she approached the end of her life with complete confidence in Christ. She won’t get to pack her husband and family to take with her. Rather she surrendered them in his care and fixed her gaze on heaven. A soul so clearly tethered to Christ that she wasn’t afraid to die.
May we be like her as we live out each day a little closer to eternity.
A Sermon in a Restaurant
By Nicole Goddard
One evening out at dinner, an elderly woman sat at the table beside our family alone. Our 10 month old locked in on her and charmed her with his 3 toothed smile and jibber jabber. She and I exchanged knowing smiles throughout our dinners and when it was time to leave I stopped by her table to say hi before we left.
What I thought would be a brief greeting turned into a full conversation. She gushed over my family and told me all the things a mother loves to hear. She had 4 children who were the absolute joy of her life and shared some sweet motherly wisdom. As our conversation wound down, she shared that she had just put her husband with dementia in a nursing home because she was dying from pancreatic cancer.
Here’s the thing, she didn’t say this looking for pity nor did she show any signs of fear or sorrow. She said it full of peace and anticipation of heaven. She said it like she was simply going home.
Amidst the imagery of our reading in the book of Revelation today, John shared a voice from heaven stated -
And they did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid to die.
Revelation 12:11 (The Messiah pg. 468)
The fruits of the spirit were on full display in this woman as she approached the end of her life with complete confidence in Christ. She won’t get to pack her husband and family to take with her. Rather she surrendered them in his care and fixed her gaze on heaven. A soul so clearly tethered to Christ that she wasn’t afraid to die.
May we be like her as we live out each day a little closer to eternity.
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