We learned a dear friend passed away yesterday. Although he had many health issues, the death was not expected and we are feeling the hole in our lives. But one of our sons messaged this: "Sorry to hear about your friend, although he gets to run off to God so in that light it's a good thing." Amen to that.
So as I sit here, I am feeling particularly tender toward families who must deal with a serious illness or death of a loved one incarcerated away from all the comforts we take for granted in the free world. A mother of an ailing incarcerated son or daughter can't fix chicken soup, lay a cool cloth on a feverish brow, hum a familiar tune, pat a hand. This lays a mirror up to the most frustrating part of loving someone in prison or jail. They are not the only one paying the price for their bad choices.
And to know that someone I loved lay dying without a kiss or touch from family of blood or choice...that thought takes my breath away. And think of those dying in the free world, so also separated from a beloved child or parent whose incarceration separates them from the comfort of physical contact and presence.
So today, will you please join me in lifting up individuals and families dealing with this in jails and prisons as well as loved ones adrift in our homeless population, folks alone in nursing homes bereft of family and all who are estranged from the comfort, wisdom, hope, faith and healthy touch of family.
Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you—Colossians 1:9a
For more information on hospice care in prisons and jails, check out this link. http://static.nicic.gov/Library/014785.pdf
So as I sit here, I am feeling particularly tender toward families who must deal with a serious illness or death of a loved one incarcerated away from all the comforts we take for granted in the free world. A mother of an ailing incarcerated son or daughter can't fix chicken soup, lay a cool cloth on a feverish brow, hum a familiar tune, pat a hand. This lays a mirror up to the most frustrating part of loving someone in prison or jail. They are not the only one paying the price for their bad choices.
And to know that someone I loved lay dying without a kiss or touch from family of blood or choice...that thought takes my breath away. And think of those dying in the free world, so also separated from a beloved child or parent whose incarceration separates them from the comfort of physical contact and presence.
So today, will you please join me in lifting up individuals and families dealing with this in jails and prisons as well as loved ones adrift in our homeless population, folks alone in nursing homes bereft of family and all who are estranged from the comfort, wisdom, hope, faith and healthy touch of family.
Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you—Colossians 1:9a
For more information on hospice care in prisons and jails, check out this link. http://static.nicic.gov/Library/014785.pdf
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