“They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid . . .” Psalm 112: 7-8a
All of us at one time or the other, are faced with life choices that can cause fear and anxiety in us. Over twenty-two years ago, one of the most difficult decisions that my family had to make was when we decided to put my late wife, Judy, under Hospice care. She had two operations to remove tumors from her brain, and already had radiation and couldn’t have any more. Chemotherapy would only slow this new tumor down and would have side effects. We also had endured several years of hospitals, nursing homes, treatments, doctor appointments, and having to do daily care for her.
Because of the brain damage that Judy had experienced from the second operation, her higher-level thinking ability had been impacted. She wasn’t able to make this choice for herself. The decision we make was both easy and extremely gut-wrenching. We loved her and didn’t want to see her suffer any more then she needed to. On the other hand, by going under Hospice care we were saying that we wouldn’t try anything else to prolong her life. In fact, we were making the decision to end her life at some point. I remember at the time, my son, Kevin, said, “you never want to see someone you love suffer.” That caring statement helped us make our choice.
Our thought was to just keep her comfortable, and this decision was made more out of love for Judy, versus our need to keep her alive. On a certain level, we weren’t afraid of making the choice that we made, but it was still very painful and full of fear and anxiety.
As you daily walk in your spiritual pilgrimage and life journey, with all of it’s highs and lows, may you also be secure in the Lord. When life challenges come your way, and you are confronted with very trying choices---as it does for all of us---may you be unafraid knowing that the good Lord is walking beside you through all of the pain and unknows! Peace, Vernon T.
The picture is from when Judy was the Director of Righteous Education at Seton Parish in Pickerington, Ohio.
Copyright © 2021 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
All of us at one time or the other, are faced with life choices that can cause fear and anxiety in us. Over twenty-two years ago, one of the most difficult decisions that my family had to make was when we decided to put my late wife, Judy, under Hospice care. She had two operations to remove tumors from her brain, and already had radiation and couldn’t have any more. Chemotherapy would only slow this new tumor down and would have side effects. We also had endured several years of hospitals, nursing homes, treatments, doctor appointments, and having to do daily care for her.
Because of the brain damage that Judy had experienced from the second operation, her higher-level thinking ability had been impacted. She wasn’t able to make this choice for herself. The decision we make was both easy and extremely gut-wrenching. We loved her and didn’t want to see her suffer any more then she needed to. On the other hand, by going under Hospice care we were saying that we wouldn’t try anything else to prolong her life. In fact, we were making the decision to end her life at some point. I remember at the time, my son, Kevin, said, “you never want to see someone you love suffer.” That caring statement helped us make our choice.
Our thought was to just keep her comfortable, and this decision was made more out of love for Judy, versus our need to keep her alive. On a certain level, we weren’t afraid of making the choice that we made, but it was still very painful and full of fear and anxiety.
As you daily walk in your spiritual pilgrimage and life journey, with all of it’s highs and lows, may you also be secure in the Lord. When life challenges come your way, and you are confronted with very trying choices---as it does for all of us---may you be unafraid knowing that the good Lord is walking beside you through all of the pain and unknows! Peace, Vernon T.
The picture is from when Judy was the Director of Righteous Education at Seton Parish in Pickerington, Ohio.
Copyright © 2021 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
RSS Feed
