Redemption Song

My dear friend's battle with liver cancer ended this past Friday. My heart aches for him, wishing he was sitting on the front porch at Joseph's House to say, "Good morning, Shorty," or sitting in his room listening to Bob Marley. But I know he is still here in spirit. He still watches over me when I walk home, and he still greets me good morning when I arrive at Joseph's House.

Watching him die was one of the most challenging experiences, but also a very rewarding one. It was a time when I felt God's presence so clearly, when I was able to bear witness to the beauty that rises out of death. I spent most of the morning by his bedside Friday, writing him a little thank you note. I noticed a major change in him from the day before. He was breathing lightly. He was no longer moaning or wincing. It was almost like he was free of pain. As he slept, I sat there, watching, wrapped up in the mystery that surrounded me. A co-worker came in, and together, we gave him a gentle bed bath. Feeling his skin between my fingers was so intimate, so full of love, so powerful. As I moved his arm, his leg, his entire body, he peacefully obliged. Again, it seemed as though he was free from pain.

Early in the afternoon, our nurse came downstairs to find me. She said, "He is nearing the end. If it is important to you, and I know it is, you should go up to his room." I felt myself hesitate. I thought I could go to the bathroom first, but something inside of me pushed me and told me NO, you must go now. As I entered his room, I knelt at the foot of the bed and placed my hand on his foot. And that is where I remained until he took his last breath, and for many moments afterwards. 

He died peacefully, just as I had prayed all week. His breath slowly stopped and his heart slowly ceased beating. There was no groaning, no coughing, no evident pain. He so naturally died. My three friends and co-workers, entered the room after his death, and together we remembered. Balaji had his hand on our dear friend's leg and my hand in the other. My other hand rested inside Tina's while her other hand held Sam's. Together we mourned. Together we grieved. Together we remembered.

The mystery surrounded us in those moments. Where was he now that his spirit left his human body? We began to perform the Joseph's House rituals - lighting a candle by the bed, changing the body so the family can see him in all his beauty. As we changed him, we turned on the stereo near his bed. Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" began to play. The word freedom just kept repeating itself, and that was when I knew. My friend is now free. He has been carried to freedom. He has left this life for one of true freedom, true joy, singing his redemption song. The world lost a love-filled man, a teacher, a passionate human being, but we have gained a true angel. And for that...I am eternally grateful.