Faith may be described as a value one believes without proof. Faith is used as a word that symbolizes our belief system or a guide to our moral values. There are many different faiths, but they all are based on transcendent values. Human beings use these values to guide them on their earthly life. We, as human beings, know that we are finite beings. We are born and ultimately die after our journey on earth. For many, faith is the bridge we cross over to another existence.

It is interesting to note that in many ancient communities, the person was buried with items needed for another life, wherever that was. They saw the corpse, but the personality and vital force were gone. The person’s energy went somewhere, so they sent items for their new life. The graves had pots, hunting equipment and often signs of the person’s status, perhaps jewelry or a weapon. The Egyptian pharaohs made their life work preparing for their death.

All the major religions address the meaning of death. Faith is the abstract part of us that transcends the reality of time. It is “time” that limits us, but faith allows us to see a more fruitful and transcendent vision of ourselves in relation to the eternal. Faith gives us a code to help us make choices that enhance our care and that of others.

I have been a chaplain to the dying for several years, and I have seen people enter that extraordinary place a few days before or months after a person passes away. Faith plays a unique place in a person’s life. I want to share with you some of the ways faith has been evident in the lives of people I have served.

One observation I have found is that those who have had an association with a faith community have less anxiety and a greater understanding of the world in general. Often as we grow older, elders find that the community they have been members of disappears as they enter a facility. They find themselves in a nursing home, perhaps for medical assistance, or they have issues where they cannot care for themselves. They are often alone with their faith and many others who come from different backgrounds and beliefs.

One of the most beautiful attributes of people of faith is they seem at home in who they are. They can see others before themselves, their troubles or needs. I met just such a person when I first started as a chaplain. She was a minuscule person. Nothing prepared you for what was on the inside of this smallish woman. I learned about her remarkable ability for compassion, grace and peace. Every time I would visit her, it was all about my family and me. Why had I come out in the awful weather? How was it going with the chaplaincy? After our greeting and small talk, she would ask me to read a psalm from her Bible. It was always a privilege. We would sit on the edge of her bed, and I would read, as her eyesight was poor, and unfortunately, many Bibles are such small print. Yet, such peace flowed from this small event.

I would leave the nursing home asking myself, What makes a saint? Was holiness really love of God and did this help one embrace the world one lived in? The last time I saw her, she was in a wheelchair in a long nursing home corridor. We did not speak. I bent down to kiss her hands, and she nestled in my arms, and we hugged for a moment. We both knew she was going home. Death claimed her a few days later, but her soul, ladened with faith and love, radiates as bright as the sun. I feel confident that this great soul went to her eternal reward in the arms of angels. I think of her often when I visit my patients.

Faith can make us impervious to “time.” Faith can transcend the earth we know and make us, no matter how poor, sick or aged, a light to our earthly path.

Kathleen Carlton Johnson, PhD, hospice chaplain, may be reached at faithtoday2023@gmail.com.