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Selected
Excerpts
The
Beginning
The
Tumultuous Years
Vision
Quest
Losses
Pastoral
Care
The
Transition
The
Process
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I
walked this journey so often with patients. We often live as if our
lives will continue indefinitely and the inevitability of death is
far removed from our thinking. The possibility that everything can
change in an instant, that life as we know it can end, remains for
someone else, but not us; however, when the threat is real, when there
are no longer any options left for physical healing, a terrible aloneness
can descend. Within that aloneness, the failures in one's life, in
relationships with others and with God, become intensely magnified.
In general, people have very little experience of being loved for
who they are, myself included. It's very difficult for us to believe
that we are precious in our Maker's eyes. I witnessed this over and
over with patients who were approaching death. It is this "dying"
need for unconditional love that shaped and molded my understanding
of a person's final moments. |
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