For those of you who followed my old blog, you may recall I did some writing last Fall regarding my dad and some of the people he shared space with at a rehab hospital. Sadly, after finally going home, another fall has landed him back in the hospital and ultimately back in rehab with a fractured spine and 3 fractured ribs. He's 80. My mom, who is 76, is his primary caregiver. It just isn't working so well.
Be that as it may, I of course began to wonder about how people cling to this life on earth. My dad has always been a bit afraid of dying. He barely walks, he's heavily sedated, he falls, he's had two back surgeries, bypass surgery and surgery on a broken hip, yet continues to do everything possible to keep keepin on. Even mom continues to talk about how he'll "get his strength back" and come home as if there's barely a thing wrong with him. Why is it we hold on so tight?
Are there things we feel we've left undone? Are there still things on our bucket list that we'd like to do? Are we afraid of what's beyond? Or more accurately, are we afraid that maybe there is NOTHING beyond? Now THAT is a scary thought. For Christians, of course, Christ's sacrifice means heaven awaits. If you aren't Christian then, no doubt, something ELSE awaits. Lets face it. No one really knows for sure. Maybe its that nagging deep inside that we really don't know that makes us cling to this as if it were all there is.
It's hard seeing my mom and dad get to that stage in life where the best is behind them.....way behind them. For them there isn't alot left but doctors, hospitals, rehab and maybe even a nursing home although you'd never convince my mother of that.
But here's the thing. Death truly is part of life. We're all going to get there. Oddly, I'm not afraid of that passage so much as I am curious about it. A lot of questions will get answered then for sure. For the newborn baby, the door is swinging in. For people like me, the door is just sort of slightly ajar. For people like my folks, the door is swinging out. I hope it doesn't sound too cruel to say that once the door swings out, maybe it's best to just walk on through.
There IS something beyond this life. Every single one of us will learn what it is.......when our door finally swings out.
This is very interesting. I, myself always wonder is there something beyond this life. My grandmother always told me; "none of us will ever know for sure until our time has come. When one "hope" ends, find a new form of hope & just enjoy today". She was in denial about things too. I truly don't believe she looked at it that way. I guess I won't understand that either until her age. Very good blog, makes you think about that door.
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