| A long time grieving ... |
| © Ferna Lary Mills |
During the last few weeks that my Grandfather was alive, he was mentally absent.
He didn't have Alzheimers, but while his physical body kept fighting with strength
enough to keep him hanging on, mentally, he had already left us. He knew none of
us in the room and spoke only of people he knew long ago. There were no reactions
to our words or our presence, but rather it was as if he had already passed into
another world...a world we weren't privileged to share.
My mother (his oldest daughter) sat down beside me and said, "I wonder which is
worse? The mind outliving the body? Or the body outliving the mind?"
Many years later, after her death and the death of many other of my loved ones, I
still don't have an answer. Either way, it just doesn't seem fair that for millions of
people death comes in two distinctly different parts. Many times, these two parts are
separated by many, many years, and their family's grief begins long before their
loved ones physical death.
Betty Eaton tells a true story of John and Marilyn and the courageous way that John
is dealing with the loss of his wife to Alzheimers.
Joan Clifton Costner's poem, "Only Today", depicts the day to day struggle for
comfort in dealing with the same disease at her mother's bedside, able to catch only
glimpses of joy.
It's my prayer that you find comfort and strength for your grief through the words that
these two wonderful ladies have shared here at Rainbow Faith. ~ God bless you.
He didn't have Alzheimers, but while his physical body kept fighting with strength
enough to keep him hanging on, mentally, he had already left us. He knew none of
us in the room and spoke only of people he knew long ago. There were no reactions
to our words or our presence, but rather it was as if he had already passed into
another world...a world we weren't privileged to share.
My mother (his oldest daughter) sat down beside me and said, "I wonder which is
worse? The mind outliving the body? Or the body outliving the mind?"
Many years later, after her death and the death of many other of my loved ones, I
still don't have an answer. Either way, it just doesn't seem fair that for millions of
people death comes in two distinctly different parts. Many times, these two parts are
separated by many, many years, and their family's grief begins long before their
loved ones physical death.
Betty Eaton tells a true story of John and Marilyn and the courageous way that John
is dealing with the loss of his wife to Alzheimers.
Joan Clifton Costner's poem, "Only Today", depicts the day to day struggle for
comfort in dealing with the same disease at her mother's bedside, able to catch only
glimpses of joy.
It's my prayer that you find comfort and strength for your grief through the words that
these two wonderful ladies have shared here at Rainbow Faith. ~ God bless you.
| A Christian Grief Ministry |
100's of Inspirational Grief Poems and Stories |