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Then there's my cousin's husband's father. He's 89 and a long-time Baptist, as well as a widower. In August, he was suffering from congestive heart failure and kidney failure. The doctors determined nothing more could be done for him. They ceased his medicines and sent him home to die. They said death would come within two weeks.

Prayers were said. A vigil began. All his remaining friends and family came to see him. He'd made his mind up that he would face the inevitable and was mentally prepared for what awaited.

Except it didn't happen. He got better (makes you wonder about those medicines, doesn't it?). A couple of Sundays ago, he actually got dressed and went to church!

Nobody believes his longterm prognosis is good but it's amazing to me how everyone, including the patient, was prepared for the end and yet God allowed him more time.

I do think some people "know" when it's their time. I also believe that God is sovereign over life and death and it all happens according to His timetable and nobody else's. Just ask a guy named Lazarus.

Matthew 17:20 : He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I've always wondered if Jesus meant the 'mountain' to describe this sort of situation (illness, in this case).