Preparing for the Inevitable

This podcast will help you get ready to face the inevitable unpleasant things that will happen in your life -- things like trouble, suffering, sickness, and death -- the death of people you love and your own death. Trouble, suffering, and death are common threads that run throughout all of humanity. They are inescapable. You will never meet a person who has not, is not, or will not experience these terrible things in life. Yet, we attempt to hide from these inevitabilities, to pretend they don’t exist or that they won’t happen to us. Our world is filled with news of people dying, children suffering, entire government systems and organizations enduring trouble and turmoil, but we tend to see these as things that only happen to "other people" and never to us. Trouble, suffering, and death come equally to all people, of all races, from every socio-economic status, of every religion, in every country of the world. It makes us all equal. This podcast will show you how to accept these realities of life, and not just cope, but face trouble, suffering, and death in your own life and in the world with confidence, courage, class, and most of all, with faith, hope, and charity.

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 6 08/07/2016

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 5 07/31/2016

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 5 The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:7: “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” The featured quote for this episode is from Mark Twain. He said, "The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time." Our topic for today is titled "The Spirituality of Dying, Part 5" from the book, "The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come" by Rob Moll. --- Letting Go Jim’s renewed sense of purpose and spiritual vision came about with some difficulty. First, Jim said, he had to learn to trust that God would take care of his family. “I am a control guy,” Jim explained. “It was unfathomable for me to figure out how God could take care of my wife and kids without me on the scene.” But reading Luke where Jesus talks about leaving family members behind for fidelity to Christ, Jim was struck by Jesus’ words. It was exactly what he couldn’t do. Jim said he heard God ask, “How much do you love me, Jim? Do you really love me enough to trust me to take care of your wife and your children?” Once Jim had let go of his need to be his family’s sole provider, his family had a surprise gift for him. Early on Easter Sunday morning, a friend came to get Jim and took him to church. The pastor met Jim outside, and the three friends walked through the church doors together. Inside, his pastor gave Jim a program for the event that was about to take place. His pastor said, “Jim, you have about a hundred friends in there, friends of yours, friends of your kids. Your wife has put this together. All four of your kids are going to get baptized.” That morning, Jim’s kids all gave their testimonies and were baptized. “It was just a little service for our family and for our friends,” Jim said. His wife also shared with their friends about the difficulties she had dealing with Jim’s illness, but also the strength God had given her to handle her husband’s death. ... /episode/index/show/theinevitable/id/4553939

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 2 07/09/2016

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 2 The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” The featured quote for this episode is from Steve Jobs. He said, "If you live each day as it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." Our topic for today is titled "The Spirituality of Dying, Part 2" from the book, "The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come" by Rob Moll. --- The Veteran Paul, a World War II veteran, was dying of complications from diabetes. A father of four girls and one boy, he lived with his family in Wisconsin. After the war, he worked to raise his large Catholic family. However, those memories of the war remained an important part of his life and eventually his death. Becky, one of Paul's daughters, said that even in his old age he remained close to his army buddies. "He had several guys from his hometown that were all in the service with him. They all made it through, and they remained friends throughout their lives." Dinners together with their families, as the friends aged, turned into breakfasts of donuts and coffee. Growing up, Becky would listen to her father's stories and the faith he had in God, who Paul believed provided very real protection from harm during the war. Though he dodged bullets in Europe, diabetes slowly caught up with him. He entered a local hospice program, but stayed alive much longer than expected. "He just hung on," Becky says. And just when it seemed that Paul's life would soon end, the family's hospice nurse had to leave. For her own reasons she was taking another job. It devastated Becky and her family. "She worked for a long time with him," Becky said. "Dad was at least a couple months in hospice, and they got to know the nurse. They really grew to love her. She was a source of strength for the family at that time." The nurse was leaving despite the fact that Paul had only days of life left. Hospice staff told Becky's mother to call her children and let them know their father would soon die. "My mom was really upset about the nurse leaving, and my dad too," Becky says. ... /episode/index/show/theinevitable/id/4502785

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 1 06/29/2016

The Spirituality of Dying, Part 1 The Bible says in Revelation 14:13: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” The featured quote for this episode is from H.P. Lovecraft. He said, "That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange eons even death may die." Our topic for today is titled "The Spirituality of Dying, Part 1" from the book, "The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come" by Rob Moll. Because of his Alzheimer's, my hospice patient, Edward, and I were never able to communicate well. I would get off the elevator in the convalescence center, look around the tables where the elderly and ill residents occupied themselves with simple games, slept or watched the activities outside. Each week for a year I scanned the tables and looked for Edward, leaned over in his wheelchair asleep. I usually woke him up, knowing I was one of his only visitors and that he'd be glad to have someone to talk to. I'd ask Edward questions, and he would mumble answers. Sometimes he would talk very intelligibly, and I understood every word. But even then his mind was confused. I understood his words, but they made no sense. Even on good days I could never play much of a role in the conversation. I often simply nodded agreement with him and asked Edward to tell me more. Though we could never carry on a meaningful conversation, I continued to visit, and over the course of a few months I thought Edward began to appreciate my presence. There was never anything particularly special about our relationship, but he would smile as I arrived and tell me it was good to see me and to have a good day when I left. I discovered that Edward enjoyed it when I simply blathered on about anything and everything that came to mind. Doing this is no skill of mine, but it didn't seem to matter to Edward. I would talk about my kids or upcoming travel plans. I'd talk about work, about the weather, about Chicago's sports teams. ... /episode/index/show/theinevitable/id/4480205