Your earnest and sorrowful letter has been read with much tenderness and has been carried before the Lord in prayer. The love you bear for this creature whom God has entrusted to your care is plain, and the trial you now endure in watching her suffer, in seeing her affection checked by coughing and weariness, and in bearing the burden of giving medicines which distress you both, is not hidden from Him who notes even the fall of a sparrow.
Be assured that our God is not only careful for the lives of His people but also for their comfort. He says, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. His comfort is not a distant word but a present and tender mercy, like that of a mother who watches over a sick and fretful child, speaking soft words again and again, and never leaving its side. If there is an ounce of trouble there is an ounce of consolation, and if there is a ton of trouble there is a ton of consolation to be found in Him. Nothing falls into your cup without the wisdom of your heavenly Father permitting it, and though the chastening makes the heart smart, it is not without purpose, to draw you nearer to the fountain of all consolation.
That fountain is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is the very essence of the believer's consolation, the river of the Water of Life proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. There is healing in Him for every sickness of soul, for He has borne our sins and with forgiveness comes the promise of a day when the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations, and until that glory life begins, the abiding power of His grace keeps the soul in health, world without end. This is the comfort that aids constancy, that establishes the soul in service and keeps it from declining when joy would otherwise fail. Therefore we would point you not only to relief for your beloved creature, but to that Word which quickens the spirit and gives life, for when the Word gives life to the spirit, then it gives comfort indeed.
We have prayed, and will continue to pray, as you have asked, yet as those who submit all to the wise and tender will of the Lord. We have asked that He who is merciful would ease whatever pain or discomfort is present, and grant relief to her breathing, and if it be His gracious will, restore appetite and strength and ease of body. We have asked that He would guide your hands and give you steadiness and gentleness as you administer the pills, the inhaler and the fluids, that you may do what is needful without causing needless distress. We have asked that He would give you clear wisdom in every decision that lies before you, and that you may know His mind from day to day. And we have asked that when her end comes, as come it must for all flesh, for our brief life here is but a pilgrimage and every life has its appointed end, the Lord in His mercy would grant her a gentle passing, and spare her that terror which you so rightly dread, and provide, if such a course becomes necessary, the help of one who can minister with compassion in the quiet of your own home.
We pray also for you, that in this place of trial, which is also the place where the Lord promises to comfort His people, you may find comfort in Christ and in His Word, and in the fellowship of His people, not forsaking the assembling together where comfort is often most richly dispensed. May the Spirit of God teach you to say, This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has quickened me. If you have not already, cast your whole soul upon the Lord Jesus Christ, for salvation is through Him alone, by His blood and righteousness, and there is no other name by which we may come to the Father. In Him alone is sure hope, both for this life and for that which is to come, when He shall wipe away all tears and make all things new.
May the Lord hear your cries, which He does not despise, and give you to feel that you are heard, not because your words are many, but because His mercies are great in Christ Jesus. May He keep you persevering in faith, receiving from Christ daily as the source of your life and the joy of your spirit, even through the valley.
We commend you and your dear creature to Him who is full of pity and tender mercy, praying all in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns to comfort and to save. Amen.