Physical to Spiritual Self

    My dad has always been larger than life to me. He was a gifted football player in high school. He was a strong swimmer, throughout his life, even into his 80's. He was a laborer most of his life. His huge hands witnessed to years spent in lumber mills, on construction sites, and painting homes and businesses. But when his work was over, he cleaned up, and enjoyed having dinner with his family, reading the paper, and snoozing in his recliner in front of the television. 

    Today, a Hospice nurse gave me a book called, Gone From My Sight, The Dying Experience, by Barbara Barnes RN. In the book, Barnes gives a brief overview of what starts happening in the body of a person with only months to weeks to live. She mentions how the person will begin to withdraw from family and conversations since, "Words are seen as being connected with the physical life that is being left behind. Words lose their importance; touch and wordlessness take on more meaning." My dad is 88 years old. He's lost over 30 pounds in a month and he's become unable to walk in just over two weeks. He sleeps and listens. He jokes still and smiles. But today, he just wanted to hold my hand. 

    Dad has always loved to cook and eat. His own father, brothers, sister, and nephew all owned restaurants. Food was a big focus in our family. Lately, he hasn't been interested in eating and anything sweet, is "too sweet." This comment seems strange from a man who historically couldn't get enough chocolate chip cookies, rocky road ice cream, or chocolate covered peanut clusters! In her book, Barnes addresses eating in the last days of life, "It is okay not to eat. A different kind of energy is needed now. A spiritual energy, not a physical one, will sustain from here on." I found this statement interesting, but she didn't elaborate, which left me wondering what is this "spiritual energy" of which she writes?

    I talked to dad today about his spiritual life and where he thought he'd go after his death. He didn't seem to really know. I asked him whether he thought he would go to heaven and he commented that he wasn't particularly religious, which, of course, I already knew. So I asked him if he wanted to know how to make sure he went to heaven and he said yes. Even though he's hard of hearing and doesn't wear any hearing aids, we discussed that he needed to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died and rose from the dead for his sins, ask Christ to forgive him of all his sins, and then ask Jesus to come into his life and be his Lord and Savior. There was much more discussed and even a few tears shed by both of us. 

    I feel better now knowing that his spirit will know where to go when he gives up his physical body and takes on his spiritual one. Barnes describes this process of dying like this, "A person in the months, weeks, days and hours before their death is working to get out of this shell we call a physical body." The Message (Bible) tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 that "when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our 'tents' again...Sometimes we can hardly wait to move...we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies!"

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. (Psalm 86:5 NIV)