Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Shawna: And Joni, that's exactly what you do, not only on the radio, but in everything, you share hope. Today, I'm hoping you'll tell our listening friends about one of your lesser-known and rather personal ministries.

Joni Eareckson Tada: Well, there are a few personal ministries that I do, so...

Shawna: Okay, well, some time ago, I heard that when you learn someone is close to meeting Jesus face-to-face, close to dying, you sing over them. I heard about that and then not too long after, I got to witness it firsthand.

Joni, do you remember when my mother was on her deathbed? The hospital called me and said I had better come quick if I wanted to say goodbye one last time. I left the office here at Joni and Friends early that day, and soon after I got to the hospital, you called me and you asked me to put you on speakerphone for my mom.

I knew right then exactly what was happening. You were singing my mother into heaven, Joni. I stood next to my dying mom and I put one hand on her chest and with the other hand, I held the phone close to her ear and you started singing. You sang "Blessed Assurance" and Joni, I stood there crying like a baby. It was nothing less than a holy moment and I will never forget it.

Joni Eareckson Tada: Oh, Shawna, bless your heart that you remember that. And you're right, it was a holy moment and I felt so honored to help escort your dear mother into the gates of glory. And isn't that what we all do when we stand vigil by the bedside of a friend or family member who's not long for this life?

Shawna: Well, I know I certainly felt honored to be by my mother that day. And those words you used, escorting her to the gates of glory, it's hard to picture that but it's true. I was standing beside angels at her bedside, angels who were getting ready to escort her home to heaven. Hallelujah.

Joni Eareckson Tada: And I recall singing "Blessed Assurance" as I figured that would be a hymn that your mom would be familiar with. "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood."

There's something soothing and wonderfully comforting about hearing or singing songs of faith to a fellow believer who's on their way home. And I honestly do not know when I started calling the loved ones of my friends asking if I could sing to them, but just recently I called my friend Robert who over the holidays had developed pneumonia, was on a ventilator and was expected soon to die.

Since his lungs were a big issue, I sang "Breathe on Me, Breath of God." "Breathe on me, breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love what thou dost love and do what thou wouldst do."

You never know when someone is unconscious or in a coma. You never know if they can hear you or not, but I don't think any hymn sung over a dying loved one is ever wasted. "Blessed Assurance," I praise God that believers like your mom, Shawna, can face the life to come with assurance.

Shawna: Yes, and listening friend, if you've accepted Jesus as your Savior, you have that same blessed assurance that my dear mom had before she went to heaven. If you're not sure, please go to joniradio.org today and read our "Do You Know Jesus" page, because we want you to have that same blessed assurance today and for all the days ahead.