Reminders for Your Spiritual Journey

Death is sort of a taboo subject and not one we often chose to write or talk about unless someone close to us has: “Passed away, Gone to meet his maker, Is finally out of her misery, Is in a better place, Is no longer with us, Is with the angels” or one of the many other euphemisms we use for talking about death and dying.  It is not considered a polite, or even an appropriate, topic for general discussion because it brings up strong emotional feelings around the loss of someone close to us, and it is not something we relish thinking about for ourselves.  Yet it is a topic we all have to face sooner or later, either as we anticipate the death of someone we love, and that we ourselves will eventually have to deal with one way or another.

The first time we sit at the bedside with someone who is dying we can’t help contemplating our own mortality and start to come to grips with the reality that everyone dies.  Everyone either succumbs to a long slow process or is suddenly no longer alive after an accident or something like a fatal heart attack or stroke.  There is a natural fear that comes with that realization––either of what we might face after we die or of the dying process itself, or both.  My own mother who was a born again, devout Christian who had said she was looking forward to meeting Jesus and seeing all the loved ones who had gone on before her, suddenly blurted out, as she waited to die, “What if I wasn’t good enough?”  I was dumbfounded!

I reminded her of what she had taught me many years before––that no one can ever be “good enough”, and that is why God sent Jesus, who was perfect, to die in our place.  She then relaxed.  I’m not sure if it was because she then remembered that lesson or that she was reassured that I had remember it, but she died shortly thereafter with a peaceful smile on her lips saying “Oh, it’s so beautiful!”

Life itself can be more beautiful when we have the assurance of an eternal life to look forward to.  Death can be a whole lot easier and much less scary, when we know what to expect.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die for us so that we should not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 3:16 “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord.  So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Romans 6:7

Some people fear change, it implies that things will be different and that somehow threatens the status quo, the predictable, our ability to be in control of our lives.  Even a sudden, unexpected change in the weather causes us to have to alter our plans.  Deep down the fear seems to stem from a fear of loss of original identity, a substitution of one thing for another.  It causes some people go to great length to resist change, or to even deny that it is happening.  Yet change is inevitable, and the ability to adjust to change is essential to living a fulfilling life.

Travelers who hadn’t checked their email the night before departure, got a rude awakening when boarding the MSG Meraviglia on December 16, 2023.  The cruise ship was scheduled to leave the wintery chill of Brooklyn, New York for warm sunshine in the Bahamas.  Citing “unseasonable and rapidly worsening weather” the itinerary was changed fewer than 24-hours earlier so the ship went north rather than south.  Passengers who had packed for beaches were now confronted with the cold of their new destination in Canada.  While at their port in New Brunswick, temperatures dropped to 15 degrees – 65 degrees cooler than the expected temps of 80 in Grand Cayman. CruiseIndustryNews,com, 12/21/23

Imagine how some of the passengers responded to the big changes.  Some were angry and expressed their displeasure openly, vehemently the whole cruise and tied to enlist others to demand a reverse of fortunes, no matter how impossible.  We humans seem to want to have our way, no matter what.  Some of us need to learn again and again, that it is we who need to adjust, not that the world needs to adjust to us.

Yielding our will to the will of God and learning to make the changes necessary to be in compliance with HIs will is the only way to fulfil God’s plans for us.  He has shown us the way and even when things do not go as we might have expected, He has promised to guide us and bring us into His saving grace.  It is up to us whether we resist and make ourselves and those around us miserable, or accept the changes we are offered and live in peace, content in the knowledge that Jesus died for our salvation and all we have to do is to believe and accept God’s offer to not only change us, but transform us into a new creature, reborn of God.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Proverbs 3: 5

Resilience is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties or the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape.  The literal definition of the word resilient means “to bounce back".  The word is associated with withstanding shock, returning to form, maintaining strength, and not giving up after an accident, disappointment or loss.  It takes resilience to recover from a flood or fire that has damaged or destroyed a home.  How quickly we can recover from a major illness, accident or other difficulty is, a measure of our resilience.  It requires mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

According to writers for Mayo Clinic: “Resilience means being able to cope with tough events. When something bad happens, you still feel anger, grief and pain.  But you're able to keep going, both physically and psychologically.  Resilience isn't about putting up with something tough or coping on our own.  In fact, being able to reach out to others for support is a key part of being resilient.”

It is important to get on with life and to make every day meaningful.  For some people, that might mean finding something important to do like preserving whatever can be salvaged from a wreckage, replacing documents or starting the process to collect insurance or to repair or replace what has been lost.  In the case of a death, it means making the necessary notifications and making the changes required.  Keeping busy, and taking care of whatever has to be done, helps us move forward and gives us a sense of accomplishment.  We need to learn from the past to help us realize that we have recovered from other difficulties and will make it through the present one also.  We need to reach out to others for help and comfort.  We need to take care of ourselves, making sure we get good nutrition, plenty of exercise and adequate sleep.  If professional help is needed, we need to avail ourselves of whatever help is available

Scriptures for strength during difficult times show us that trials come to make us strong.  God gives us challenges to remind us that our strength and willpower are finite.  Bible verses about resilience remind us that we cannot take on these trials alone.  God allows for such trials to teach us to rely on Him for strength, wisdom, direction, comfort and everything else in between.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12. “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4