Guest post by Lana Christian

We all draw lines in the sand. My father drew a line in the sand after he had a near-fatal stroke that left him completely paralyzed on one side of his body. Even though he spent two months in inpatient rehabilitation, he came home in a wheelchair. Yet he was determined to walk again.

And he did.

Always with a cane or other device, but he walked.

He held that line after he contracted an incurable form of cancer twelve years later. Regardless of what hellacious treatment he endured, he was determined to remain mobile.

And he was—until six weeks before his death.

It’s one thing to draw a line in the sand for yourself, but what do you do with other people’s lines? My mother-in-law refused to do cardiac rehab after triple bypass surgery. Later in life, it took her seven years to decide to try a treatment for her lung cancer. Her decision. Whether we like other people’s lines or not, they aren’t ours to draw.

People have different reasons for drawing lines in the sand. Some lines push people to achieve. Others signal where they want to stop.

When a loved one stops at a line of their own making, our natural instinct is to try to help them over it. Sometimes that’s needed, but it’s better to step back instead—to discern why they’re at that line. Maybe they need time to decide whether they’ll try to cross it. Maybe they’re struggling to accept they’ll never be able to move beyond it.

Regardless, practice a ministry of presence. Walk with them alongside that line. Be a witness to their life. And, if you feel the urge to use words, some of the best ones are, “I don’t know all you’re going through. I just know it’s hard. I’m here for you.”

So Hagar gave this name to the Lord who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me.”

~ Genesis 16:13 (BSB)

Lana Christian has a dual writing career in medicine and ministry. She won numerous APEX awards for the former and ACFW awards for the latter. She loves secret staircases, third-story windows, jazz, and chai tea. She believes hiking can solve most problems, but God can solve every problem. Visit her on Twitter.

Tracy Crump dispenses hope in her award-winning book, Health, Healing, and Wholeness: Devotions of Hope in the Midst of Illness (CrossLink Publishing, 2021). A former intensive care nurse, she cared for her parents and her mother-in-law and understands both the burdens and joys of caregiving. Her devotions have been featured in Guideposts books, The Upper Room, and many other publications, and she has contributed 22 stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul® books. She also conducts writing workshops, freelance edits, and proofreads for Farmers’ Almanac. But her most important job is Grandma to five completely unspoiled grandchildren.