Posted on 11/28/2017 12:14:45 AM PST by beaversmom
As a divinity school student, I had just started working as a student chaplain at a cancer hospital when my professor asked me about my work.
>SNIP<
"I talk to the patients," I told him. "You talk to patients? And tell me, what do people who are sick and dying talk to the student chaplain about?" he asked.
>SNIP<
They talk about the love they felt, and the love they gave. Often they talk about love they did not receive, or the love they did not know how to offer, the love they withheld, or maybe never felt for the ones they should have loved unconditionally.
>SNIP<
They talk about how they learned what love is, and what it is not. And sometimes, when they are actively dying, fluid gurgling in their throats, they reach their hands out to things I cannot see and they call out to their parents: Mama, Daddy, Mother.
>SNIP<
I have seen such expressions of love: A husband gently washing his wife's face with a cool washcloth, cupping the back of her bald head in his hand to get to the nape of her neck, because she is too weak to lift it from the pillow. A daughter spooning pudding into the mouth of her mother, a woman who has not recognized her for years.
>SNIP<
They tell me what it feels like to know that you abandoned your children, or that your drinking destroyed your family, or that you failed to care for those who needed you.
Even in these cases, I am amazed at the strength of the human soul.
>SNIP<
When the love is imperfect, or a family is destructive, something else can be learned: forgiveness. The spiritual work of being human is learning how to love and how to forgive.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I’ll definitely try to find it. Thank you.
When I say a prayer for someone, I often feel them emotionally and physically even though we have never met, and don’t even use our real names in the forum. It doesn’t matter as we are all one.
Religion(s) are theories and philosophies about the anatomy & physiology of the human soul and how it interacts with its environment. Doesn’t mean that they are not correct or accurate theories.
But there is a higher level of the soul that when you tap into it, the soul and the souls of others become physical. At that point you experience and know rather than believe.
I am both religious and a scientist. I see no conflict between the two.
My sister was born a year later and I was born about six months after my mom turned 37.
You’re welcome.
Thank you much; I just need to tough up!
Thank you for the very kind words, FRiend.
It’s time for...Jack LaLanne!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_lalane
Try to outlive the kids! ;-D
Teach them. Teach them all that you can, a little at a time. Save for them. Find out how they can get whatever you’ll have to leave for them without a fight over an estate.
I remember Jack. He pulled barges and rail cars with his friggin teeth.
HIS TEETH.
Those days are behind me, but I did the next best thing:
I made a beer holder and nailed it to the oak tree next to our trampoline, so I could enjoy 2 fun activities at once, without having to exit the trampoline (which is a hassle due to all the safety features) to get to the beer.
Did you know there is not a single model of trampoline on the market that comes with a beer holder? Even the $2k models lack them.
So yeah, I jump on the trampoline with my kids and drink beer. so far the net has held!
Thank you both.
It’s been said that for every cursing, there is a blessing for those remain in faith through Christ.
Odd. Brought tears to my eyes this morning when I wrote it. Hadn’t had that effect on me before. Not a bad thing.
Wow, so she was already an officer (his superior officer?), while he was still a Private, or what?
Had your mother already been married before? Did she already have children from a previous marriage? Are we talking about the 1950s, or what?
You must admit that that's a rather unusual constellation, right? I'm sure that they got quite tired of having to explain themselves. It is to be hoped that you don't mind a few simple questions...
Regards,
My dad died over a decade ago, but I still am stunned by it, and it’s not logical. Godly love is so powerful. Bless you. So glad you had those great moments with your mom.
However, you've become rude with your personal and ill-mannered questions.
I would asked you to stop demeaning my deceased parents but you appear to be someone who does not respect civility to begin with.
I am finished with this rather boorish game you're playing.
You’re a great dad. And you have more wisdom than a 20 year old. You know you won’t see them get super old so pack it all in every day, every year. Give them all the love and make sure they will always know you are loving them even when you are not here.
I made sure my oldest 2 will be there for my youngest two should I go before they are grown. I am now an older mom and I need to do what I describe in the first paragraph myself. I feel I can be a better parent now than I was when I was young. I tell my first born I made all the mistakes on him.
It didn’t bother me at all, though, and I understood.
_____________________
Could you share your understanding?
Lewis wrote a book, Until We Have Faces
As one physician once remarked, “Christians die well”. Biblical doctrines which saints of God have believed all their lives sustain them wonderfully in the hour of their death.”
______________________
Perhaps, that has not always been my experience.
Thank you, AW...it was nice to hear from you! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving...:)
My sincerest apologies! I did not mean to demean your sainted parents nor offend you - quite the opposite! (There's an even bigger age-differential between my wife and myself, which maybe explains my curiosity.)
Regards,
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