Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Tanya Wilmeth. There's a little book called Guidepost. Maybe you've heard of it. My grandmother used to get it every month and then after she passed, my mom kept the subscription

going.

When I stayed with either of them, I'd sometimes pick it up for a quick read before bed.

The stories inside were short, they were heartfelt, they were usually written and submitted

by everyday people.

One of those people was a woman named Lenora.

Lenora was a trained surgical nurse, but when she found herself caring for her

grandfather at the end of his life as he was dying of pancreatic cancer, something in her shift did,

and she discovered that she had a deep compassion for people as they were dying. And so she became a

hospice nurse. Lenora said people often ask, why would you want to do that? Isn't it depressing?

But Lenora has a different perspective that is shaped by years at the bedside of the dying.

She says, I've learned that death is not something to fear. I've come to understand the joy God has

prepared for his children. The closer my

patience come to death, the more their eyes and spirits open to a reality I can only clumps.

They have an extraordinary awareness of God's presence. Sins they agonized over for years, suddenly

feel forgiven. Grievances they've held on to for a lifetime vanish.

That's when I realize death isn't ending only for those of us still wrapped up in the story of

our earthly lives. So why are we talking about this? Why are we talking about hospice in the

end of life today? Well, because today we're looking at the final chapter of first Samuel, chapter 31,

and it is the end of an era for Israel.

King Saul is dead.

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