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The Last Mile of Life
Everyone faces life and death crossroads. And everyone’s experiences differ. This year in particular has impacted many of us as we or a loved one walk the last mile of life. Today my emotions remain raw while this season of incredible loss for me and my family wears on. I don’t have facts and figures to try to make sense of it all. Instead, I’d like to share a few thoughts from my heart.
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Coming to terms with the brevity of life
Psalm 90:1–12 is part of the lectionary readings for the twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, which is October 25th. The ode is regarded as a communal lament, that is, a hymn initially composed to express the grief and sorrow of God’s people over a distressing circumstance. The precise nature and cause of the anguish remains unknown, being sketched only in the broadest of terms. Some conjecture that while the poem contains some ancient stylistic elements, it still is a literary mixture that was created in Israel sometime after the nation’s exile into Babylon. In contrast, conservative Bible scholars think there is sufficient evidence to support the historical association of Moses to…
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Imagine There’s No Lennon
“Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky…” I find the above one of the saddest thoughts ever put to music. Unfortunately this song has become the Humanist theme song. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and shutdown, a bunch of celebrities decided to sing this song acapella and share it with the world… for some reason. Why? It is a melancholy, hopeless song… at least on the surface. And John Lennon is dead. Imagine there is no heaven, no place where people finally find rest from a life of toil and struggle, pain and sorrow. Imagine there is nothing…
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Experiencing Peace and Hope with God
Romans 6:1–11 is part of the lectionary readings for the third Sunday after Pentecost, which is June 21st. In 5:12–21, Paul drew a parallel between Adam and Jesus. At the dawn of history, Adam rebelled against the Creator by deliberately violating His specific command. As a result, the entire human race became alienated from God. Whereas Adam’s transgression brought condemnation to all humanity, Jesus’ atoning sacrifice brought forgiveness and new life to all who trusted in Him. The Mosaic Law was added so that an awareness and acts of trespass might increase. Also, where sin increased, grace increased considerably more. Similarly, the more people became conscious of their hopeless condition…
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Let My Tears Flow
***April 1 marked the third anniversary of my brother’s death. Soon after his death, my dear friend Karla asked me to share some of my experience with grief and the church as a guest blogger on her site for Bible.org. This month, I have chosen to repost that blog below. “Sister, I have cancer.” My stomach dropped. My body felt numb. My brain whirled with best and worst case scenarios. I wanted to vomit. I tried to be brave, as every fiber in my being hoped my thirty-eight year old brother was playing some kind of cruel joke. Who jokes about cancer, though? No one. The carcinoma that grew…
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Someday Soon
I remember the pains of childbirth. For about 45 minutes, I was stuck in intense contractions that happen just before the pushing stage. Amidst the pain, 45 minutes felt like forever.
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Life After Death, Grieving a Sister’s Suicide
This week I am honored to feature the words and heart of a dear friend of mine who lost her beloved sister to suicide. Her pain is fresh, but her hope in the Lord is inspiring. Nina resides in Monticello, Georgia and is mom to three sweet children, a military wife, a medical professional, and a loving friend and sister. I know her prayer is that her words bring comfort and encouragement, especially to the brokenhearted and hopeless. Everyone loves a heroic ending. The masses pour into movie theaters to watch superheroes conquer the enemy and save the world at the brink of destruction. Our hearts soar when allied forces march in…
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Sin rears its ugly head!
Genesis 3:8–17 Time: The dawn of human history Place: Eden Lesson Aim: To acknowledge that sin disrupts our relationship with God. Introduction Elizabeth was folding sheets in the bedroom when Matthew, her six year old, came in looking as if he were ready for Halloween. His face and arms were covered with decorative swirls of blue and green marker ink. Wide–eyed, his mother asked, “What happened to you?” Matthew blinked. “I was sleeping on the couch, and when I woke up, Caleb was drawing all over me with his markers!” Elizabeth shook her head. It would take at least an hour of intense scrubbing to get the…
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Give Lots of Hugs
I just returned home from the funeral of a friend who passed away within days of going into the hospital for surgery. Although it was a serious surgery, nothing like this was expected. Sadly, this isn’t our only funeral this week. On June 30th a private plane carrying two couples and a family of four crashed, and my husband knew two of the men on it. He attended one couple’s funeral today and will go to that of the family of four on Saturday. So please give your friends and family a hug when you see them—and make it a point to be with them soon if possible. God doesn’t…
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Ending Well
Several years ago, I had a neighbor whose father died and soon afterwards her dog died. When the father died, I never acknowledged his death in anyway to my neighbor. However, when the dog died, I expressed my condolences to her. At the time, I thought it was odd that I did not acknowledge the father’s death, but did the dog’s death. I remember thinking, “I put more emphasis on the dog dying than I did the father dying which seems odd.” Part of this misplaced value was my inability to know how to interact with the death of a human. Death is an integral part of life. We all…
