Sharing Christ with the Dying - Book Review

When we are face-to-face with mortality, we realize how frail we are.  No matter how strong and self-sufficient we may be, during a health crisis, there is no amount of competency or physical/mental prowess that will escape us from the reality. This can be terrifying.  Sometimes, this is how God works.  The work of the Holy Spirit can break through the barricades and strong fortress of pride.

The dying process is painful but can bring with it new levels of understanding and the time needed to contemplate one’s spiritual state.  It jumps the dying person onto the spiritual fast track.  When we have a loved one who is dying and we do not know if they are spiritually ready, we have entered a zone of life-changing significance.

Melody Rossi suffered a surgical mistake after a routine surgery, nearly losing her life.  Her long months of recovery equipped her with the compassion and patience to help those suffering during a health crisis, which hit her repeatedly in the following years.  She walked alongside each of her parents and her stepmother, none of whom knew Jesus until at the very end of life.  She put on her walking shoes and trusted that God would make her path clear through each of the relationships as she ministered to them in their suffering. Even in the most strained times, she discovered that the most powerful way to gain entrance into someone’s heart is to serve them.  The small, insignificant tasks opened up opportunities to share.

In her book Sharing Christ with the Dying, Melody Rossi tells her stories and gives practical advice to prepare us to walk the path with a loved one through the dying process.   While much of the book is spiritual, she also addresses the medical and legal issues as well as the physical changes that take place before a person dies.  She walks us through the procedures that must take place after death and offers advice.  She ends the book with a chapter on grieving well.

The author shows us that illness and death is not just an end, but a beginning, and that “as we offer a cup of cold water to them in the name of Jesus, the Lord can use it to quench even the deepest thirst”.  Whether your dying loved one is a believer or not, this book is practically useful as well as encouraging and shows how to offer both the physical and metaphorical cup of cold water. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.