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The Euphemism of ‘Death With Dignity’
There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death. (Proverbs 14:12) Brittany Maynard, a young woman with an incurable brain tumor, recently took her own life rather than suffer through a painful, difficult descent into natural death. She had moved from California to Oregon, which is a “right-to-die” state that allows terminally ill people to be assisted in ending their lives on their terms. How should we think about this? It depends on your starting point. If you leave God out of the picture, believing that man is autonomous with the right to make all our own choices independent of any outside source…
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What you need to let go of the people you love
One phone call and life changes: “Lael, this is Mom. They’ve called in hospice for Dad.” I fly to Texas immediately where I’m learning about hospice. It’s no longer just for critical care at the very end of life. With advanced Lewy-body dementia and Parkinson’s disease my Dad continually cycles between somewhat relaxed and hyper-agitated. Psalm 31:7 describes it well: “…you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul.” Clearly Dad’s soul is in distress. Like the unforgettable quote from George Washington, “I die hard.” Whoever tries to sell death as simply the turn of the wheel in the circle of life is so deceived. Death…
