What do you say in a funeral line?
I am assuming you are thinking of the time of visitation at a funeral home. You are in this long line, and you are wondering what to say when you finally reach the individuals who are grieving the death of a loved one?
First, it is helpful to remember if you are in a line at a funeral home, you are already doing the most important gesture of caring. You may be uncomfortable, but you are there.
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Just Listen
I suspect that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. When people are talking . . .listen to what they’re saying. Care about it. It has taken me a long time to believe in the power of simply saying, “I’m so sorry,” when someone is in pain. And meaning it. One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story people often interrupted to tell her that they once had something just like than happen to them. Continue reading
Death of an Infant Child
My experience took place when our infant son, Justin, died with no apparent symptoms at the tender age of three and a half months. It happened in the evening just after my husband, a pastor, had left for a meeting. I rushed my baby to the hospital, but the doctors could not revive him. I had one older son, Joshua, who was then 3, and would later have another son, Christian, but neither of these children would or could replace the precious child whom we lost. -Donna Continue reading
How can we care for a person with cancer? Do Not Say . . . .
Deanne Thompson has Stage IV breast cancer and she has written a book about her journey. The book’s title is Hoping for More. Deanne’s insights are for everyone who has ever struggled with a serious illness or loved someone who has; which means that this book is ultimately for everyone. If you have ever wondered, “What do I say?” or “What do I do?” Continue reading
How can we care for a person with cancer? Say, “I’m Coming Over. What may I bring you?”
Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY’s Nashville music critic, was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 48. Brian chronicles his life with cancer in a series of articles which can be found by Googling, ‘My Semicolon Life’. Today, I want to share … Continue reading
How can we care for a person with cancer? Ask Important Questions!
Today’s caregiving wisdom comes from Brian Mansfield. Brian is a writer for USA TODAY and was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 48. Brian chronicles his life with cancer in a series of articles called, ‘My Semicolon Life’. Continue reading
Always a Bit of Hope – Part 2
How can we give the suffering person something to look forward to. How can we give them a touch of hope?
A wonderful hospice nurse wrote a little book titled, ‘May I Walk You Home’. In it she says, “Even the littlest of hopes can bring a bit of joy on a dark day. ” Help the person look forward to something.
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Always a Bit of Hope – Part 1
How can we give a suffering person something to look forward to? Hope. How can we give them hope? Martin Luther King, Jr said, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all.” Continue reading
House of the Dying Part 2
Doing the Hokey-Pokey in The House of the Dying Today’s program is title “Doing the Hokey Pokey in The House of the Dying.” Does that sound a little sacrilegious –or not proper conduct in this dark sad omber place? Let … Continue reading
House of the Dying Part 1
I didn’t want to go! No one in our group wanted to go; however, on the day’s agenda while in Haiti was a visit to the “House of the Dying.” I didn’t want to go. As we bumped along the … Continue reading
You May Be the Answer
You may be the answer to someone’s prayer. Wow. That is a humbling and daunting thought. God may use me to answer someone’s prayer. God may use you to answer someone’s prayer. Following is one example: There was once a … Continue reading
ACTS Prayer – part 2
Have you heard of the ACTS Prayer? It’s a prayer model I like to use to give me focus and keep my mind from wandering while praying. Prayer is having a conversation with God—just as if he was sitting across the counter from you. The ACTS prayer acronym stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Yesterday we learned about Adoration and Confession. Today we continue with Thanksgiving and Supplication. Continue reading
