The Final Journey

My morning routine includes opening the front door to pick up my newspaper and then reading it while I listen to CBC radio. I am a media multi-tasker! The morning radio host is Andy Barrie, an enthusiastic, intelligent well-informed interviewer and "quarterback" of the show.

He sounded a little rusty and heavier in spirit this morning on his first day back after several months absence. That absence was cloaked in secrecy until we were told that his wife, Mary, had succumbed to cancer. Barrie made the choice to support her at home during the waning days of her life. I admire his priorities. As skilled as he is as a radio host, his wife needed him.

Part of my work, as with most clergy, is joining those who provide palliative care to the dying. We attempt to provide a "non-anxious presence" in Christ's name, whether it is the homes of the terminally ill, or in hospitals, or nursing homes. It is one of the privileges of the profession, even though it can be emotionally demanding and just plain sad.

Yesterday I went to the hospital after church to see someone taken overnight to the emergency department. As I was leaving the hospital after my visit I met family members of another member, a woman in her nineties in failing health. Back I went to emerg for a conversation, a hand-hold, a prayer. Later in the day I got the phonecall that she had died, and I returned to be with the family gathered around her bed. More conversation, hugs, another prayer.

Not everyone can take months off work to support a dying loved one, but we can attempt to provide loving support to those who make that last mysterious journey from this life to the next.