Begin with the End in Mind - End of Life

Good morning, Five Minute Families! We are continuing our “Begin with the End in Mind” series. Last week we discussed staying focused as Christ followers on the fact that heaven is our ultimate home, and we need to live as citizens of heaven now. Today, as we begin this year with the end of mind we are discussing our earthly end - our dying days. Psalm 71:9 cautions us, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.” There will come a time when the mighty man who worked the oil fields needs help standing and his strong grandson will have to be his legs. There is dignity in the cycle of life, and we need not be afraid of it. Galatians 6:2 tells us to [b]ear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. And the beginning of Matthew 25:35 says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” When our loved ones are nearing the end of their lives, we must move to serve and comfort them. So, five-minute families, how can we begin with the end in mind in regards to end of life issues for our loved ones and ourselves? First, make a plan. We need to get a plan in place so that our loved ones know our wishes once we are no longer able to communicate those desires completely. But, remember, in making your plans, your loved ones will be the ones taking care of the details. Be thoughtful of them as well as your own wants. And, sometimes, we listen simply to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. At a church where I attended a weekly Bible study, there was a woman with four young children; she and her husband were in their thirties. One day she felt an intense prompting of the Holy Spirit to write out her funeral arrangements and jotted a few notes if any of her children or husband should die. She shared with her pastor and friends how silly she felt, but that a weight lifted once it was written out. A few weeks later, she, her husband, and three of their four children died when their minivan was hit on the interstate by an out-of-control 18-wheele