Death

The Rocking Chair

This morning as I sat with my mom, I was rocking in the rocking chair. It suddenly occurred to me that it was the same chair that my mom rocked me and my siblings in when we were babies and beyond. My mom was in this chair at the beginning of our lives and I […]

Blessed Connection

I was delighted to talk with a far away friend today. She and her family have been on mind and I pray for them often. Her husband passed away almost a year ago now, which was hard to believe. While our situations are different, the pain of suffering the loss of a loved is the […]

Building From God

I found today’s scripture reading from 2 Corinthians particularly relevant, hopeful, and encouraging. It said in part; Therefore, we are not discouraged;rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light afflictionis producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as […]

Memorial Day at the Cemetery

This morning I reminded my mom that is was Memorial Day. I asked if there was anything special we should do. She said no. At this point, my mom doesn’t really remember that my dad has passed away, which is both difficult and a blessing. We had a caregiver over this afternoon, so my sister […]

NICU Blessing

One of mom’s Hospice nurses came this morning and gave her a nice shower. I am so grateful for these ladies. Afterwards she was heading out to see her pediatric patients. I asked how hard or sad that must be. She said it is important to have the right frame of mind. She told me […]

Getting Out

A couple of weeks ago, one of the men in our prayer group died. We all went to his funeral and prayed for and with his wife and family. Both he and his wife had been joining the group via Zoom shortly after he got ill. Later, only his wife would participate. Tonight was our […]

Reaching For Heaven

A friend of mine in my prayer group had been battling cancer. He started on Hospice Care 10 months ago. He was a very faithful man and I always enjoyed what he had to share in our sessions. While he was on the quiet side, I knew that when he spoke, his words would be […]

No Room

Last night I saw a video of a woman who died when she went over a waterfall kayaking. She said at that moment she was given a choice to follow God or not. She chose to accept God’s will no matter the outcome. Her experience of life after death was fascinating and heart wrenching at […]

Many Reminders

As I was driving to an appointment this morning, I saw the moon setting behind the mountain. It was such a beautiful scene that was almost identical to what I saw 2 years ago when my dad entered Hospice Care in the hospital. The first morning I went to see him, I opened the blinds […]

Two Years

Today was the two year anniversary of my father’s death. I had been anticipating this day for several weeks now and wondering what it would be like for my mom. I set up to have my dad prayed for at the parish Mass this afternoon. While mom doesn’t always remember that my dad died, she […]