Annette Browing's article, "Incorporating Spiritual Beliefs into End-of-Life Care" in the January-March 2009 issue made a significant contribution to nursing literature by offering a practical tool for nurses who provide EOLC and desire to meet the spiritual needs of patients and families during this difficult time. I noted how often words such as collaborating and communicating were used to emphasize the importance of sharing a message about an EOL preference. I also appreciated Diggins' sidebar emphasizing that sometimes the greatest gift we can give our patients is the relationship we have with them as "a fellow sojourner on the road of life."

This article helped me appreciate that Jesus, the Word, expresses God's message to us; he also establishes a personal relationship with us. Message and relationship-Christ is both. These articles offer an illustration of how we can represent Jesus to patients and colleagues, both by our sensitive communications and by our personal relationships with them.

Harriet Coeling, PhD, RN

Cleveland, Ohio