Archive for the ‘Caring for People’ Category

Positive Parenting: Family

 by Dr. Dick Hardel

 

My wife, Carolyn and I were invited to a family milestone celebration of the 60th anniversary of the marriage of Irene and Merton Strommen. The invitation stated that the celebration would be at the home of one of the sons of Irene and Mert, there should be no physical gifts, and it would be a family celebration.

I felt so honored to be invited and checked to see if we would be returning from my speaking engagement in time to attend. I was pleased to discover that we could make it just in time. I did not want to miss such an event. Not many have had the privilege of celebrating 60 years of a marriage centered in the love of Christ.

Because our flight from South Carolina was delayed for a short time, Carolyn and I were the last guests to arrive. Cars were parked along the street for blocks. I was still amazed that we were invited. “The invitation said that this was a small celebration for close family, but we aren’t family. I’m not with these people very often,” I thought to myself. As we entered, so many people greeted us by name. If there was a member of the gathering, this family, who did not know us, they were quickly introduced. Two people even said, “I recognize you from your picture in the Metro Lutheran.”

I had become trapped in my own narrow thinking of what it means to be family. So often we only think of blood relatives. Many times at The Youth & Family Institute, where I formerly worked as the Executive Director, our staff had been challenged to use a word other than family in our presentations and our writings. The narrow definition of family as those immediately blood-related, living in the same house has only been with us since World War II. There is no biblical word for family in either the Old Testament Hebrew or the New Testament Greek. The biblical understanding of family goes beyond being related by blood to include households, hired workers, servants, tribes, clans, and even an entire nation.

I have been told that it would be better to use a more inclusive word than family. So I tried phrases like bonded relationships or primary relationships. But they don’t communicate as well as family. The word family comes from the same root word as familiar. One is recognized because she lives closely with another. It is an intimate relationship that stresses closeness rather than the frequency of personal association.

Throughout the anniversary celebration of Irene and Mert Stommen’s marriage, I kept looking around at the family. Many were not related. Many would not even reach the same conclusions over political issues of our day. As the Strommen boys, a quartet, sang faithful songs that shared 60 years of family milestones, we smiled, laughed, and even cried. We could see that the closeness of this family was faith in Jesus Christ through the history of Norwegian piety and the Lutheran Free Church. The grace of God was shining in Irene’s face as she so eloquently spoke of the fun of growing closer in Christ. Even Merton–strong, stoic, Norwegian pietistic male–struggled not to have his voice break with deep emotion of the presence of a gracious God in Jesus Christ, throughout his very well prepared thanksgiving speech.

Family is much more than being related. It is living closely with Jesus Christ. Carolyn and I rejoiced when Irene and Mert invited us back to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

 

Family Activities

1.  If you were planning a wedding anniversary celebration to be held at your house, how many family members could you invite? Who would you invite? Make a list.

2.  A FaithChest® would be a wonderful gift to give at a wedding anniversary milestone celebration. The family stories and photos could be burned on a CD or DVD.

3.  Make a list of the folks that you consider family, those with whom you are familiar and live near. How might you let them know that they are considered family?

4.  Discuss the common thread that weaves and holds your family together. How will you keep that common thread strong?

5.  Whose families are you part of, and yet are not related?

 

Dick is an ordained Lutheran pastor and served as a parish pastor in congregations in South Dakota and Florida, and as assistant to the Bishop of the Nebraska Synod of the ELCA. Since 1994 Dick Hardel has served at The Youth & Family Institute as Executive Director, Director of Vision and Creative Ministry, Director of Wellness Ministries, and now Senior Fellow. 

This article on Positive Parenting was originally written for and published in the Metro Lutheran, a monthly newspaper in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN area. For more information about a FaithChest® see Dr. Hardel’s website: www.faithwellmt.com

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“Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.”
–Ben Franklin

This last week I received a call from our Jr. High Pastor, Scott Belon, asking whether I could approach our seniors with a request. The cost for Jr. High camp had gone up. For many hit by this depressed economy, more scholarships were needed in order for students to be a part of what could be one of the most life-changing weeks of their spiritual lives. There were two students in particular who needed full scholarships. I sent an email out to some key leaders in our senior group explaining the situation. Now, understand that many of our seniors also live on a limited income source. Several have lost their pensions, and inflation has cut deep into their resources. I sent the email out on a Thursday. By Monday of the following week, we didn’t have money for two students…we had enough for five (that’s close to $2,500.00)!

Whoever believes that older people don’t care for the youth is greatly mistaken. Here at EvFree, our seniors love deeply. They pray hard and they express their support of our youth because they believe in the higher call of God in their lives. We are blessed to be in a church family that loves one another in this way. Way to go, seniors!

This was sent from Pastor John Coulombe, First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton (www.evfreefullerton.com).

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Culture Change…

Leona Bergstrom

Scribbled words on newsprint reflect the concerns adult ministries leaders carry in their hearts as they attended the recent Re-Ignite Network Gathering. It wasn’t hard to identify the top issue, as person after person cast his vote by marking an “X” by the questions:

How can we change the church culture so that aging is valued, not discounted?

How do we create a new vision for ministry in the second half of life?

How can we be proactive instead of reactive?

Great questions, but difficult to answer. Culture change is not about restructuring organizations or programs. It’s about changing the shared beliefs, values and behaviors of the people within that organization. And when it comes to aging, churches today have a long way to go to actually change these. In the field of gerontology there is a growing realization that for too long we have perceived our aging journey as going from active adulthood to decrepit elderhood in one giant leap. However, current thinking establishes a new life stage in which adults may be of “retirement” age, but are far from being frail, feeble and infirm. During this life stage adults have an increasing desire to discover their passions, gifts and abilities and reinvest these in new areas of service. They are flocking to find volunteer opportunities, “encore” careers and intentional mentoring relationships. And organizations around the world are welcoming these seasoned, and sometimes sassy, adults. All too often the church is not the organization that highly values this unnamed generation. Thus, we lose the energy and the spiritual impact that might have been.

Clearly there is a need for culture change. We need to change our shared values, beliefs and behaviors to incorporate all ages and stages of life into the community called the church.

 

Leona Bergstrom is Director of Lifetime Ministries (a division of ChurchHealth), a ministry dedicated to assisting churches in developing powerful and effective programs for and by older adults. Along with her husband, Richard, Leona is co-director of 2nd ½ for Him Ministries of the Baptist General Conference. This article was also published in Converge Worldwide BGC  ”Boomers and Beyond” in May 2011.

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Jodi Detrick

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

I’ve been told lately that I sometimes talk in blanks . . .

Sad to say, this accusation has been leveled by members of my own beloved family. I hate to admit it, but they’re right. I will be talking in perfectly fluent English when, suddenly, a word I know as well as my own middle name will escape me.

“Honey, will you go get me the … the … ” (What is that thingamabob called anyway?) I wildly gesture in the general direction of the desired object, hoping that will be enough of a clue to identify the article I want. My daughter just rolls her eyes.

“You’re talking in blanks again, Mom! Use your words!” This can happen outside the family setting as well, and it’s even more unnerving then. Recently, I was addressing a group of church leaders:

“It occurs to me that the really important thing, the, uh, the … ” (What was that word again? Is it “crush,” or “crust”? No, no that’s not it! Think, Jodi. Everyone is staring at you, waiting for you to spit it out. CRUX! That’s it! Crux!) “the crux of the matter is … is … .” Too late.

Now that I’ve finally figured out the right word, I’ve forgotten my point entirely and I’m talking in blanks again. It would be nice if people would just fill those in without reminding me about things like menopause and the likelihood of escalating forgetfulness in the years ahead.

Memory is tricky. Why is it that we often remember what we’d rather forget and forget what we want to keep in mind? I’m not sure, but I know there are many verses in the Bible that tell us to remember certain things.

“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

” … remember the poor … ”

“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them … ”

One of the most important observances or worship rituals in the Christian faith, Communion, is based upon a reminder. (It can also be called Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Communion, among other names.)

Within the various facets of Christianity, the observance of Communion differs slightly. For some, it is observed weekly. For others, it is offered monthly or even irregularly.

Some churches require participants to be a certain age, to have completed prerequisite classes or to be a member of that congregation. For others, open Communion is practiced, which means participants need only have expressed faith in Christ.

The actual receiving of Communion can have variations, as well. However, the basics usually include the reading of certain Scriptures and a time for prayerful self-examination, along with the eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine/grape juice (called the “elements”), which represent the body and blood of Christ as he gave his life for humanity.

Despite the differences in the way it is observed, one thing is true for all who participate in Communion. We are acting upon a reminder from Jesus. He said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24)

It strikes me that he knew ahead of time how forgetful we humans can become. He knew that we would not only forget common words and people’s names and lose our train of thought. He understood that, in the busyness of daily living and the information overload that occupies our minds, we would be prone to forget the most important act of love in history. We would forget the cross. So he instituted a simple ceremony, involving eating and drinking (something we are not likely to forget!) as a string around the finger of those who believe in him.

The act of Communion reminds us that God came looking for us. Not in a search-and-destroy mode, but on a mission to rescue and restore. In one of my favorite verses, God says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Communion helps us remember that God chooses to forget our flaws. That is the crux of the matter.

Oh, by the way … the word crux is from the Latin meaning “cross.” Keep it in mind.

Jodi Detrick serves as the Assemblies of God Chairperson for the Network for Women in Ministry.She is also a public speaker, an author and a life coach.

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

 

 

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Here is a mission field of significance in plain view of almost every church in America, and most have never lifted their eyes to look on these fields, white (or gray) unto harvest.

Dr. Glenn B.Havumaki

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

While reading a letter from one of our Converge Worldwide missionaries recently, I noted this sentence: Pray for the work of Converge Worldwide, which is working hard to deploy people and resources to the least-reached areas of the world.

We used to identify the people groups of the world that had no established church, no written Word of God and no witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ as “hidden people groups,” which today are called “unreached people groups.”  Many of those unreached people groups are located in what has been called the “10/40 Window.” 

In America we now have what we can call the “40/50 Window.”  Each day as we leave our homes we step into this window because 40% of all Americans are 50+ in age.  And within that population about 1.7 million live in nursing homes.  Who are these residents?  A former housewife, laborer, mechanic, business executive, mayor, minister, board member of the nursing home. Those who have had position – those we classify as white collar, blue collar, clergy collar, no collar – now, all on level ground as they age.  You might see those who could have had position of power and influence, and yet like the lilies of the field, they have faded, lost their vitality and freshness, and soon will be no more.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:  A time to be born – and a time to die; A time to plant – and a time to pluck what is planted.” In Matthew 9:37 we read, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  John 4:35, “…behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are already white unto harvest.”  The nursing homes of our land are faced with the staggering task of taking care of 1.7 million people, most of whom have been deemed too helpless to live under their own care or the care of a family.  The homes do a good job of taking care of the physiological, psychological, social and intellectual needs of the patients, but usually look to the community to do the spiritual care and provide religious services.

Here is a “hidden people group in plain view.”   Nearly 2 million people about to cross over “the bridge of eternal significance,” with almost two thirds dying each year; many going to a Christ-less eternity!  Here is a mission field of significance in plain view of almost every church in America, and most have never lifted their eyes to look on these fields, white (or gray) unto harvest.  We invest people, time and dollars identifying those in the 10/40 window, or other far away places, and miss the opportunity to reach almost 2 million people within “ear shot” of our churches. It would require little drain on financial resources to secure eternal life for those million or so people who each year cross that bridge from earthly life to eternal life.

The Lord led me, beyond my wildest dreams, out of my first pastorate in 1976 to serve in a mission ministry called the Community Chaplain Service (CCS), a ministry with institutions of all kinds, but mostly in nursing homes.  While I served with CCS, God chose to redirect my life and ministry in a way I never expected.  Through an experience in my first job as an attendant (orderly) in a mental institution, where I was assigned on the first Sunday to take the men to chapel services, I was nudged by the Holy Spirit to think about the opportunities of chaplaincy.

I always thought that interest would lead to a hospital position as chaplain, but never gave thought to serving as a chaplain in a retirement community.  I was called to leave CCS and become the Chaplain of the Elim Park Baptist Home in Cheshire, Conn., in 1979, where I continue to serve to the present day.  The Holy Spirit is at work and we have seen about 100 residents make professions of faith to become Christ followers over the last six years.  Sometimes we have the privilege of a “moment” to bring the gospel message to even those affected with severe dementia.

One of my assistant chaplains was visiting a resident who had moved from independent living to the skilled care section of our healthcare wing.  He had seen her go from relatively good health to becoming expressionless and non-responsive, as dementia began to take its toll.  Yet in faithfulness, this chaplain would visit on a regular basis and read Scripture and pray.  One day as he was leaving the room he heard the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit say. “Go back in there!”  He knew what he was being called to do, and did not see the value in it, but went back anyhow.  He shared the gospel and then said, “I am going to pray a prayer that you can follow. It will help you confess and repent of your sinfulness, and ask Jesus Christ to come and live in your heart, as your personal Savior. You will know that you will go to heaven when you die. I don’t know if you understand what I have said, but if so, pray these words in your heart after me.”  And he prayed, not knowing if anything was happening but when he said “amen,” he looked up and for the first time in perhaps a year there was a smile on her face, from ear to ear.  This chaplain said this was for him the affirmation that he had done what the Holy Spirit had directed. The response of a heart now right with God was expressed in the smile. God can reach even the most difficult souls when we are faithful to follow his lead.

Elim Park has a grant fund that supports retired pastors, missionaries, chaplains who have served in Converge Worldwide. Financial assistance is provided to those accepted to this program, including a reduction in the entrance fee and monthly rent. In return participants are asked to serve 15 to 20 hours per week with the Department of Christian Ministries.  Elim Park is seeking to build a “wait list” and would be glad to talk to retired pastors, missionaries and chaplains regarding this wonderful opportunity for ministry and security in retirement years.

I also would be glad to talk with anyone who has an interest in nursing home ministry and share resources and ideas.  Ask the Lord if he might want you to consider that hidden people group in plain view of your church!     -GH

Rev. Dr. Glenn Havumaki presently serves as Director of Christian Ministries and Chaplain at Elim Park Baptist Home in Cheshire, Conn., and has been involved in ministries with older adults since 1976.  He served as Coordinator of BGC Gold and 2nd 1/2 for Him ministries in the Northeast District, as well as the national ministries of BGC Gold and 2nd 1/2 for Him.  He also serves as the Vice-Chairman of Board of Directors of the Community Chaplain Service, Inc. Dr. Havumaki can be reached by email at GHavumaki@elimpark.org or by calling (203) 272-3547. This article was first published in Converge Worldwide News, March 2011.

 

 

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Taking Fresh Stock Of What’s On Life’s Shelf

Pastor John Coulombe

Whether in good health or ill, whether our mileage in life is low or high, whether bodies and ‘tents’ are weathered or in tip top shape, it’s always important to evaluate one’s life’s directions and purposes. That’s perhaps why a new year motivates us to begin fresh, take stock of what’s on the shelves of our lives and to re-stock it for the days ahead. Hezekiah was told by God in Isaiah 38 to set his house in order because the number of his days were few. That’s good advice for all of us, no matter how many days we think we have left.

In case you’re wondering about when my ‘number’ may be up, my calendar reveals that as of January 5, 2011, I perhaps have 1,754 days left to live. I have already lived 23,926 days, which amounts to 65 years, 185 days, including 16 leap years.

When and why did I come up with these wild figures and this wild thought? It was 30+ years ago while reading Psalm 90:10-12: As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years. Or if due to strength, eighty years . . . For soon it is gone and we fly away . . . So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. So—I decided I would begin counting my days once a week, using 70 years instead of 80 because when living and ministering in our previous ministry, a motorcycle was my means of transportation for work—and pleasure! Little did I know at the time I would later deal with cardiac issues and prostate cancer.

But why would I begin what seems like a compulsive behavior? I wanted perspective and I wanted wisdom and my rationale was two-fold: If it’s a lousy day, “I may only have 1,754 days left to live and then I’m outta here!” There is an end in sight and I can hang on a little bit longer. On the other hand, if it’s a lazy day, “I may only have 1,754 days left to live and I, like you, was made with purpose—it’s time to re-evaluate, re-enlist and re-boot!”

This past year, I must confess, I back-slid from my previous New Year’s wish/change list so I have made some new resolutions as to how I want to live in the coming days. I’ve discovered that “If I always do what I always did, I’ll always get what I always got!” . . . and I want to continue to be changed into the image and likeness of my God. So, this past week I re-upped and made several mid-life, uhhh, ‘later-life’ course changes for myself. And I was encouraged by these timeless resolves of Jonathan Edwards from days gone by:

Resolved:

  • To live with all my might while I do live;
  • To never do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life;
  • To be endeavoring to find out fit objects of liberality and charity;
  • To never do anything out of revenge;
  • To never suffer the least emotions of anger toward irrational beings;
  • To never do anything which, if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think in anyway the more meanly of him;
  • To never say anything at all against anybody, but what is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, agreeable to the lowest humility and sense of my own faults and failings and agreeable to the Golden Rule; and when I have said anything against anyone to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this resolution.
  • In narrations, never to speak anything but the pure and simple truth.
  • To maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking. Never to give over nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be. And after afflictions, to inquire: ‘What am I better for them? What good have I got by them?’ and ‘What might I have got by them?’
  • To never to lose one moment of time, but improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can. That I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

(Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758, American Theologian and Preacher)

Love, Pastor John

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An Artist’s Escape from Alzheimer’s- the Paintings of Lester Potts.

Dr. Potts, President of the Cognitive Dynamics Foundation, and contributor to CASA Network’s writers panel,  shares the amazing story of his father’s experience with art in Alzheimer’s. This video shows the progression of Lester Potts’s art from early to late stage Alzheimer’s disease. A rural Alabama sawmiller who had never shown artistic talent until after the diagnosis, Lester paints watercolors which change in characteristic ways. He loses form and color, becoming more abstract. At the end he paints in only blues and greens, then loses color completely. His last image is of his earliest childhood memory: a saw. You will be inspired by what you see. A rich testimony reminding us that we are never done until God takes us home.


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Enhancing the quality of life … changing the perception of aging.

P.K. Beville, M.S.

Second Wind Dreams™ is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 and based in Alpharetta, Georgia.  Its mission is, through the fulfillment of dreams and innovative educational programs, to enhance the quality of life for those living in Eldercare Communities and change the perception of aging.

The program began with the work of geriatric specialist P.K. Beville, M.S., who co-authored Second Wind, a heart-warming novel about people living in a nursing home.  Second Wind Dreams offers hope and encouragement to those who are unable to attain their dreams without assistance.

Partnering with private citizens, civic groups and businesses, nearly 450 “Dreamweavers” (facilitators) in 40 states, India, Canada and Israel have made over 4,500  dreams come true – from the simple request for a new dress to wear to church to the lifelong dream of being united with an estranged loved one.

Second Wind Dreams commitment to education was again seen in the launch of the Virtual Dementia Tour, a hands on experience that allows participants to what it might feel like to have dementia.  The goal is to help caregivers provide better care.

Dreams Fall into Six Categories

Relationship-Based Dreams reunite a resident with friends and family members they may not have seen in a long time. One resident had not seen his brother in over 40 years!  Approximately 12% of the dreams are this kind.

Life-Long Dreams involve such achievements as yearning to play the piano again, swimming with dolphins or going to Graceland.  Approximately 8% of dreams fall into this category.

Dreams to Relive Past Experiences may mean a simple trip to a favorite restaurant, receiving paint supplies so a resident can enjoy their hobby again, or feeling needed when memories about a career are relived.  These represent 15% of fulfilled dreams.

Dreams for Fun make up 48% of those fulfilled.  Residents want to go to “The Price Is Right,” drive a go-cart or ride all the roller coasters at an amusement park.

Need-Based Dreams provide for those who have no financial ability to provide the simplest things for themselves — a cup holder for a wheelchair, a new pair of shoes or an appropriate dress for attending church again.   These represent 15% of the dreams.

A Dream to do something for someone else makes up approximately 2% of the dreams fulfilled each year.  Things such as inviting a choir to sing for everyone, or learning sign-language to communicate with a deaf friend are examples of this category.

Enhancing Quality of Life

Second Wind Dreams™ focuses on those living in eldercare communities since these seniors are most in need of assistance.  Family support may be non-existent and discretionary funds unavailable, especially for Medicaid-supported seniors. These are the ones who will benefit most from a dream fulfilled.

A lack of dreams and goals can have physical as well as mental consequences.  By fulfilling dreams, Second Wind Dreams™ volunteers improve the quality of residents’ lives by stimulating them, both physically and mentally, and provide much-needed special attention.

Improving the Perception of Aging

As each dream unfolds, members of the local community experience the perspective of older adults and gain a greater appreciation for their stage of life.  Often this new perception leads to long-lasting partnerships with facilities and special relationships with residents.  Long after the dream has been fulfilled, the effects linger, according to Beville, giving all involved a “Second Wind.”





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A “sunset years” dedicatory service for seniors?

Dr. Karl Lachler

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center


As friends and relatives die do you sometimes feel you have a part in the British B.B.C. TV Serial Comedy, Waiting For God? (It makes fun of older people’s fears, foibles and frenzies.)  Being realistic do you wonder when the other shoe will drop and ask, “When will my day to die come? Will I have a good death?”

How then ought we in our seventies, eighties and nineties live with that sure approaching day of our death? Certainly not like Woody Allen’s alleged comment, “I am not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” So, what should we be and do while we wait?

We must get serious and cultivate an ongoing walk with God. We who have made it to our seventh or eighth decade can remain open to God’s continuous sanctifying work. God meant for us to consistently grow in His grace. The Psalmist said the saved person “will still bear fruit in old age,” (Psalm 92:14, NIV, emphasis added).

How about Isaiah’s steadying statement, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you, (Isaiah 46:4, NIV). God never forsakes the elderly. Ageing is not license to stop growing!  Think about it. A seventy year old has lived 25,550 days or 613,200 hours. That makes for a mountain of good life-experiences and calls for ongoing giving thanks to God. Have you caught up on your debt?

After victory over roller-coaster faith, the Apostle Peter wrote, “But grow (be growing) in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” (II Peter 3:18, NIV). He had come to experience Jesus as “the same yesterday and today and forever,”

Some of us stifle the Lord’s sanctifying work by repeated mumblings; “I’m no good anymore,” or, “God has no more use for me.” Others spend much time imagining how they will die in some crazy accident or with an unusual terminal disease. These negativistic daydreamers end making self-fulfilling prophecies not pleasing to God but which strangely, the LORD sometimes allows to actually happen.

Secondly, we must not die before we are dead. Someone wisely wrote: “Some die without having really lived, while others continue to live, in spite of the fact that they have died, (spiritually).” That was not so for Jacob of Old Testament days. “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped, as he leaned on the top of his staff,” (Hebrews 11:21 NIV, emphasis added). No self-absorption here. Jacob, aged and physically weak enough to need a cane (Walker?), spends ebbing time blessing his grandsons and worshiping God. Jacob chose to think and act positively during his last days. He reminds me of an unknown schoolteacher who joyfully described his approaching death thus:

Some day the bell will sound,

Some day my heart will bound,

As with a shout

That school is out

And lessons done,

I homeward run.

Many churches have special dedication rituals for newborn babies. Wouldn’t it be powerfully practical if churches offered a “sunset years” dedicatory service for seniors? Under the pastor’s direction this ceremony could be held at a senior’s prayer meeting or at one of the public worship services. After sharing their testimonies and spiritual desires these seniors would gather before the Lord. Then with the laying on of hands by the elders, God would be called to give to these submissive seniors that enabling grace to make them pro-active witnesses for Jesus Christ right to the end of their days.

This suggestion fits how modern medicine prolongs the dying process. The September 2007 issue of Christianity Today has a cartoon of a man sitting on a chair at the foot-end of his open grave. He is dressed, hooked to an IV and staring at his purchased and already engraved headstone. Under the cartoon CT’s associate editor writes, “Death no longer comes quickly to the seriously ill. Even as health and life spans improve, people also live longer with the debilitating diseases that eventually take their lives.” He then quotes Stephen P. Kierman’s book, Last Rights: Rescuing The End of Life From The Medical System; “For the first time, in human history, we can anticipate our mortality. We can watch its slow approach.” But why just sit idle on the edge when we can worship God and bless others – as Jacob did?  J. I. Packer in his book Knowing God ends Chapter Two with this poem:

Lord, it belongs not to my care

Whether I die or live;

To love and serve Thee is my share,

And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad.

That I may long obey;

If short – then why should I be sad

To soar to endless day.There is still time to follow Jacob’s lead and make our sun setting days count right up until the count is called.

Dr. Lachlar lives in Sawyer, MI.

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About Tomorrow is an original audio program featuring the first-hand perspectives of more than 20 people who have walked through the pain of grief.  Their honest, open, and sometimes emotional comments will assure you that your feelings are normal and that even though life will never be the same, it can still be very, very good.

ww w.GrowingThroughGrief.com

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