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Janet's Guidelines for Good Health
Living Fully, Dying Well
At the Tapestry III conference, I picked up the book "Living Fully, Dying Well" by Ruben Job, retired United Methodist Bishop.I will pick out some highlights from the book to whet your appetite.
Living fully is life’s most rewarding gift. Young or old, rich or poor, at the peak of our powers or weakened by the limitations of age or disease, living fully is something that in our better moments we all desire and with God’s help can all achieve. Just as we cannot live fully without serious consideration of life and it’s meaning, we cannot die well without consideration of death and it’s meaning for us all.
Each stage of life has its own meaning and beauty, its own possibilities and opportunities, and its own risks and perils. As we mature we begin to place a higher value on the gift of life, recognizing that, young or old, there is no guarantee about tomorrow. If we are fortunate we gradually learn to savor the moment rather than wishing it away for some unknown tomorrow.
Many of us know first hand the realities of aging. Things like our arms getting to short to hold the newspaper, aches and pains in places we didn’t even know existed, diminishing energy, just slowing down in general and memory issues. I know you could add even more. However, even while we are losing some capacities as we age we also increase others and may even discover some we never knew existed. Paul says “Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16.
God is with us, going ahead of us to prepare the way, at every stage of our lives. With growing older comes diminishing energy as well as other health limitations. But there are also new opportunities:
• We can rearrange our priorities and do what really matters most to us.
• We have time to do things that make this world a better place to live.
• We can savor the sounds, sights, and scents of this wonderful world.
• There is now time to get life in order and simplify our lives.
• More time to spend in silence, meditation, reading and prayer.
• You can enjoy the things you have…use your good china!
• We can work on relationships and resolve unresolved issues.
• There’s time for our children and grandchildren.
Dying well means something different for each person. For many of us it means being at peace with our lives, with the past, with our family and friends, and with our God. Planning and preparation help to ensure that we will feel a sense of order and readiness. Death is a journey that we will all make, and there is nothing to fear as we walk hand in hand with the One to whom we belong, our faithful Savior in this life, in death and in life that never ends.
The question for us is “How will we position ourselves to see and receive the light, life and presence of God most fully?”
In His Great Love,
Janet Headley, R.N.
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