“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
John 14:1 NLT
I find “there’s always tomorrow” a comfort. Not because it means avoiding doing today what needs to be done but because it expresses hope, especially when the day has got me down or I’m behaving like a fool. Life throws multiple spanners into the works and some days getting through the next hour is a challenge. As a carer my days could prove isolating and lonely, and then all of life was bleak.
As his disciples wrestle with his departure, Jesus reassures them that there is a future, or “there’s always tomorrow”. He encourages them to seek inner peace for their mental and emotional turmoil. He encourages them to prepare for their future while he prepares for their eternity. Preparing for end of life takes many forms. First we face our mortality, and remove it from the long grass of forgetting. Having faced our mortality, we are then in a good position to sort things through.
Here Jesus begins a long monologue to equip his disciples. Much of the content will only become relevant after Jesus’ death. How are those surviving me going to continue through the grief of loss? I will not be there to support them. Perhaps thinking through what is important for me to communicate with them is useful. Organising my business affairs is also relevant. Jayne told me the other day that she has no clue where and how I file things relating to us both. Time to sit down and let go of the assumption it is either clear or useful for her. Don’t let your hearts be troubled is all about peace of mind.
Discovering this demands conversation. For Katey, end of life care was a priority. So she made an appointment with a lawyer that did not include me, and made a living will, a legal document that expressed her wishes about how she wanted to be treated and cared for if or when she lost capacity to make or communicate her decisions. This proved indispensable when it came to her death. Knowing her wishes made a difficult decision just that little bit clearer.
QUESTION
What will give you and those who survive you peace of mind, both now and into the future?
PRAYER
Lord of all life, help me not fear or avoid the difficult conversations but prepare wisely now.