Learning how to live from the dying…

I’m sitting in the room where my Daddy’s dying. I’m prompted by so many recent observations to conclude that the dying can teach us so much about how to live. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Health issues: there are ways to avoid many health problems. If you don’t like what your dearly departed died of, don’t live the lifestyle he/she lived. While I’m grieved that my dad’s kidney failure and cancer finally wore him out, I’m so proud of him for doing the best he could to make good health choices.

My dad was teaching us about vitamins when we were little…we’d have contests about who could take the most of those nasty-tasting brewer’s yeast tablets in one swallow. I won a lot! My father didn’t drink any alcohol (a pity, in my opinion…wine’s good for you in moderation…and don’t argue with me…it’s a moot point!) and didn’t smoke. After he was diagnosed with cancer 15 or 16 years ago, he ate all sorts of weird stuff…different kinds of seaweed and algae and things no one can pronounce, all blended together…yuck! But that’s probably what extended his life so long.

How people handle stress also has a lot to do with their quality of life, longevity and susceptibility to illness, particularly various cancers and digestive disorders. My father did not deal well with stress. He was afflicted with tremendous passivity in response to marital and parenting issues. His only coping method was “stuffing”. He didn’t know how to work through conflict and so he just avoided it, which did not enhance communication and relationship in our family.

2. My father has no close friends in the local area. That’s sad. He is dying here at home with just my husband and our children (except for Melodie, our oldest, who is in California at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry…even more wild, crazy and awesome than it sounds!!  http://www.ibethel.org/schools/ministry/?page=27…), my uncle (Dad’s sister’s husband, Lawrence McAllister, Sr.) and the hospice workers who come in from time to time. His other dear brother-in-law, Jackson McAllister, and his niece Lyn and her husband Arthur, precious kin-folk for sure, were down here from British Columbia for a few days last week. 

My mother and my brother are not here. That relationship was severed years ago. May the Lord work his restoring, cleansing, healing power in those relationships through my father’s death.

My father, though very friendly and always eager to share the Gospel of God’s Salvation through Jesus Christ of Nazareth, found it difficult to be transparent enough and lacked the social skills to connect through casual conversation and develop long-term deep relationships with people. I think people thought of him, at least until a few years ago, as a pleasant, friendly man. He didn’t know how to have a casual conversation about anything other than Jesus, the only area he felt confident talking about. He wasn’t really into sports and though he loved listening to political talk shows, rarely entered conversations on the topic. Well, my dear Daddy’s about to enter a whole new real of real relationships in Heaven where nothing is hidden and love abounds.

Recommendations:

For health matters: http://www.mercola.com/ While there’s much I disagree with, there’s even more that is fabulous, solid health information you will not find anywhere else…good articles on many subjects. It’s the first place I start my research when looking for health-related information.

For “how to eat to live” (as opposed to “dieting,” generally thought of as a temporary remedy for lifelong health issues!), I recommend 2 books: The Maker’s Diet by Jordan Rubin  (http://www.makersdiet.com/ for the website, also available in book form from Amazon.com and major bookstores) and Body by God by Ben Lerner, in book form (including the FABULOUS “40 Day Extreme Makeover…by God” companion book…excellent!)

For spiritual matters: http://www.extremeprophetic.com/ or our church’s site http://www.therock.org/

More fabulous, life-changing resources, links and eyebrow-raising recommendations to come in future posts.

God is so good!

Tags: death, dying, health, healthy living, radical faith