Accept, thank, trust

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me..." -- Psalm 23:4 (NAB)

I'm aware of two women in our parish who have been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, one in her late 50s and the other in her early 60s. One of them, Myriam, has written, with the help of some friends, an inspiring article that appears in the January 2013 issue of The Word Among Us.

No matter whether you have been personally impacted by this dread disease or not, I encourage you to read the article. You can access it online by clicking here.  In addition to her reflections on the spiritual side of her journey, it also includes some practical suggestions for dealing with memory loss that would be invaluable both for the person directly affected and for his or her caregivers and other loved ones.

Myriam described three steps that the Lord has led her through in dealing with her Alzheimer's: to accept it, to thank Him for it, and to "embrace the journey with trust in God’s love and wisdom." Those same three steps can, by the grace of God, enable us to deal with whatever "valley of the shadow of death" that the Lord may choose to lead us through. For no matter what our circumstances may be, He is always and forever our Good Shepherd.

Preparing for birth

When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. -- John 16:21 (RSV)

I have often wondered how a pre-born child perceives its approaching birth. Does it realize that it is growing and developing in preparation for its entry into the "outside world"? Or does it experience it simply as a growing restriction on its previous freedom to move, as the space within which it dwells becomes more and more cramped, until at last its limbs are tightly wrapped around itself and it is able to move only with the greatest difficulty?

And what about the birth process itself? How does it experience contractions as it feels itself being pushed by forces beyond its control, head first, against a seemingly immovable wall? To the extent that it is able, does it think that it is dying?

It's interesting, isn't it, that one of the common features in many peoples' "near death" experiences is the sense of going down a dark tunnel toward a bright light -- something like traveling down a birth canal.

Dear Lord Jesus, as I gradually experience the physical restrictions that come with aging and finally the death process itself, help me to remember that what we call the "throes of death" are really only the labor pains for being born into the fullness of new life with You. Amen.