Image: Unsplash
Ms. T turned 100 years old in December. She grew up on a rural farm as one of 11 children, learned to cook on a wood burning stove, and attended a one room schoolhouse. She didn’t watch television until she was an adult and after ten decades on earth, still didn’t care for it.
Working as a volunteer home health provider, I had the privilege of sitting with Ms. T on Wednesdays while her primary caregiver left the house to run errands. Sometimes we talked, sometimes she napped. She was always cordial and hospitable.
This week, I arrived at the house at my regular time to find numerous cars in the driveway and a house full of people. I knew it wasn’t a good sign. The daughter let me know that she wasn’t doing well and led me to the bedroom. When I walked in, the signs were obvious and I said out loud in surprise “Oh, dear”. She had been in such good health the week before. This was a sudden and dramatic change.
This is a natural and regular part of home health and hospice work. But, somehow, it’s always a surprise. I sat with her and held her hand for a few minutes. I asked the daughter if it would be OK if I prayed. She told me she believed in a spiritual life but didn’t know what it was. I explained that I wouldn’t be offended if she didn’t want prayer and that I believe in Jesus and that’s who I talk to when I pray. She told me to go ahead and pray. I spent a few minutes praying and talking to Ms. T and told her I was so honored to know her. She passed later that night. A century of days is a beautiful gift of God.
As humans, we know that all physical life on earth comes to an end. All living things die. Why then are we so surprised by death? Why do we feel like death is unfair? We go to great lengths to distract ourselves from the brevity and fragility of our earthly existence. We vacation, take up hobbies, join clubs, chase exciting experiences, watch hours of television or become workaholics, collect relationships - all in an attempt to avoid the reality that our days are numbered.
How then do we find strength and courage?
The ancient people who wrote the Christian scriptures were acquainted with the reality of death. They filtered the inevitability of death through the lens of faith. Here are three helpful ways the ancients of the faith faced life’s greatest uncertainty.
1). Acceptance was a key thought to the authors of the Bible. Acknowledging, instead of avoiding the reality of death is a healthy habit.
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” (Psalms 39:4).
“ Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 139:4).
2) Trust. The biblical authors also understood that life comes from God and that God determines our days with care. We cannot add time to our lives. It is all in God’s hands.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
“A man’s days are numbered. You know the number of his months. He cannot live longer than the time You have set” (Job 14:5).
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25).
3) Gratitude. The scriptures reveal an overall sense of gratitude for the gift of life and for God’s participation in the lives of those who believe.
The Psalmist expressed it best in his prayer to God.
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” (Psalm 139:13-18).
We may not be granted a century of life on earth. But each day we are given is a gift. When you are overwhelmed by the fragility and brevity of life, don’t hide from reality. Instead, accept that death is inevitable and God has given us a second life in eternity. Trust that God has carefully numbered our days with thoughtfulness so that we can experience His goodness to us. Be grateful for the wonderful, miraculous gift that today is.
"This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
Copyright @ TA Boland 2023
Comments