Last year I blogged about the Rev. Forrest Church, a Unitarian minister in the United States who was already well known as a preacher and author when he was diagnosed with esophogeal cancer and given a few months to live. The diagnosis proved to be incorrect although a few weeks ago, three years after his death sentence, Church died. His reprieve gave him time to write two more books including Love and Death: My Journey Through the Valley of the Shadow.
As a minister I'm both intrigued and blessed when presented to walk with a person as they are confronted with a tough diagnosis or move through the final stages of life. So many do so with a grace and peace I wonder whether I will have when my time comes. O course it is my time as it is for all of us. I don't mean to be morbid when I say that we all have only months to live. Most of us hope that the months will be measured in years and decades but this life is finite. The Rev. Church wanted to live whatever time he had left with grace and dignity, and living out the compassion and love he believed in so strongly before the bad news.
Apparently a favourite saying was "Do what you can, want what you have, and be who you are.” As Christians we speak of the Christ who is the source of abundant life now, as well as the eternal life to come. His phrase is an abundant life directive.
1 comment:
Like many people, I give mortality much thought. I really do hope that there is something more than our existence on earth....it's a battle I constantly have.
I have heard one preacher speak about how God has an "inheritance" for all of us, and that, no matter how difficult life can be, no matter what pain we experience on earth, each of us has this perfect afterlife waiting for us. He adds that our lives are mere vapours, so incredibly tiny in length, and that millions of years from now, we will all be in perfect places, even speaking with each other about our lives on earth.
It is my thinking about mortality that helps me cope with the minor things in life - and really, the vast majority of "stuff" can be categorized that way - and focus on doing good, treating people nicely, and knowing that yes, we do have months to live - but I sometimes think of it as having "days" to live.
Post a Comment