Good morning…
Good morning…
When we hear the word ‘hospice’ our fear level rises. Why is that?
Because we know hospice care involves the transition of a loved one from tangible life as we know it on earth into intangible life as we do not know it in heaven. All transitions are hard, but this transition from tangible to intangible, from known to unknown, from earth to heaven can be very, very difficult. Hospice care involves physically letting go of a person we love dearly.
When I google the word, I discover various definitions of hospice. A lodging for travelers, especially persons on a spiritual quest. A shelter providing rest for those on a personal pilgrimage. Compassionate care for the dying which emphasizes pain control and honors quality of life. A home or homelike setting providing emotional support for the family and palliative care for the one transitioning.
In my curiosity, I run into another word I do know know well: palliative. Offering palliative care means to relieve pain without curing. To abate discomfort or alleviate. To lessen or lighten. To mitigate or moderate. To soften or soothe.
As with most intangible, unknown, heavenly things, the more we lean in closer to listen and to learn the more our fears grow into faith. Hospice care supports a holy transition, a transition from the death of today’s life-we-love into the resurrection of God’s eternal so-much-more.
For if we have become one with Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection (Romans 6:5, AMP).
…Sue…
