Saturday, March 19, 2005
Prayer For Terri
If you are like me, you may be a little saturated with Terri right at this moment. I am writing this Friday night for Saturday posting, telling myself that there will not be much news on the situation tomorrow. The fact of the matter is, there is really only one piece of news remaining -- that the feeding tube has been reinserted, or better, she is receiving the therapy necessary for her to eat on her own. Anything else is just sad, hopeless, and horrific, but not news.
I have a confession, I have some understanding of Michael Schiavo. My grandfather suffered with Alzheimers and for the last 5-6 years of his life he was gone, dead in all but simple biological function. I refused to visit him in th last couple of years because it was such a pointless exercise. I prayed almost daily for his death, mostly because I wanted my mother relieved of the extreme burden she carried visitng everyday and mourning every day the loss of her beloved father.
I discussed it with my mother once and she told me his actual death would hurt her far more than the torture she was experiencing. Right now I shudder at how much more consequential his physical death was to her than to me. So, I have some empathy for Michael Schiavo.
Save for one thing, I never once contemplated lifting a hand to actually kill my grandfather. I wanted more than almost anything else in the world for his and my mothers suffering to end. But even before my mother told me how it would hurt her when he did die, I knew I could never actually do the deed, nor ask the staff at the home to do it either.
I must say it was not out of any great moral conviction either, it was out of the simple sense that I could see, just a little bit, through my grandfather's eyes. Even in his confused and addled state, I knew the thought of that pillow covering his head and the suffocation that would follow would frighten and hurt him.
I know that right now Terri is scared, hungry, and confused, and that is almost unbearable.
Joe at Evangelical Outpost has a very scholarly post on the potential for civil disobedience in this situation. I refer you to it and leave you to your own decisions.
Prayer remains our best hope. If you doubt it, read this testimony from Adrian Warnock. Please ignore his reference to me and pay attention to the effectiveness of the prayers. They can and will work.
If you are stuck about how to pray today, I suggest this.
Don't forget to call, then call again, your US Senator, your US Representative, and these key Florida State Senators. It is not too late to save Terri's life.
I have a confession, I have some understanding of Michael Schiavo. My grandfather suffered with Alzheimers and for the last 5-6 years of his life he was gone, dead in all but simple biological function. I refused to visit him in th last couple of years because it was such a pointless exercise. I prayed almost daily for his death, mostly because I wanted my mother relieved of the extreme burden she carried visitng everyday and mourning every day the loss of her beloved father.
I discussed it with my mother once and she told me his actual death would hurt her far more than the torture she was experiencing. Right now I shudder at how much more consequential his physical death was to her than to me. So, I have some empathy for Michael Schiavo.
Save for one thing, I never once contemplated lifting a hand to actually kill my grandfather. I wanted more than almost anything else in the world for his and my mothers suffering to end. But even before my mother told me how it would hurt her when he did die, I knew I could never actually do the deed, nor ask the staff at the home to do it either.
I must say it was not out of any great moral conviction either, it was out of the simple sense that I could see, just a little bit, through my grandfather's eyes. Even in his confused and addled state, I knew the thought of that pillow covering his head and the suffocation that would follow would frighten and hurt him.
I know that right now Terri is scared, hungry, and confused, and that is almost unbearable.
Joe at Evangelical Outpost has a very scholarly post on the potential for civil disobedience in this situation. I refer you to it and leave you to your own decisions.
Prayer remains our best hope. If you doubt it, read this testimony from Adrian Warnock. Please ignore his reference to me and pay attention to the effectiveness of the prayers. They can and will work.
If you are stuck about how to pray today, I suggest this.
Don't forget to call, then call again, your US Senator, your US Representative, and these key Florida State Senators. It is not too late to save Terri's life.
