[Magdalen] Next update

[Jay Weigel]

As one who has worked with hospice patients, I can only send my wishes and
prayers that this may be a blessed and holy time for all of you.





On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 1:17 PM, Jon Egger <revegger at gmail.com> wrote:

> Sistah Sally said:
>
> "I bless this time to you Jim, and Marcy, and Matthew, as a time of
> enabling
> grace and abiding peace and holy rest."
>
> A million AMENS!!!
>
> I have no words, as a hospice recipient, to describe how much this means to
> me.  Grace Hospice is wonderful for us, making everything easier.
>
>
> Grace and peace,
> brud
>
> On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 12:07 PM, Marion Thompson <
> marionwhitevale at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
> > Such wise words, Sally.
> >
> > Marion, a pilgrim
> >
> >
> > On 3/22/2016 1:00 PM, Sally Davies wrote:
> >
> >> Dear Jim
> >>
> >> Thomas Merton's prayer may capture some of what you're feeling right
> now:
> >>
> >> My Lord God,
> >>
> >> I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I
> >> cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself,
> >> and
> >> the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I
> >> am
> >> actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in
> >> fact
> >> please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope
> >> that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that
> if I
> >> do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing
> about
> >> it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and
> in
> >> the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you
> >> will never leave me to face my perils alone.
> >>
> >> My understanding of Hospice care is that it is about quality of
> life...and
> >> it seems that people often say that their one regret, later, is leaving
> it
> >> too long to apply for Hospice care. In other words, hardly anyone says
> >> they
> >> went there too soon, but quite a few wish they'd gone sooner.
> >>
> >> So I pray that your sense of timing here is on track, that this is "the
> >> right road though you may know nothing about it".
> >>
> >> I also have the sense, as we accompany you in spirit on this hard, hard
> >> road, that the separation you and Marcy may now experience, could be
> >> different but will not be worse, than the separation that has already
> been
> >> at work when you have been exhausted, unable to cope, and Marcy has been
> >> unable to understand. The anger, frustration and raw pain of those
> moments
> >> brings about a profound kind of separation that outlasts the moment and
> >> can
> >> come to colour everything if given the chance.
> >>
> >> So...If Hospice is about sustaining a  better quality of life, that's
> not
> >> for Marcy alone but for you as a couple. She cannot be said to have a
> >> preferred quality of life, when you do not...and for you at this time,
> >> staying connected to life requires some fairly specific things, like
> being
> >> able to attend meetings every day.  Or just to take the time to breathe,
> >> to
> >> read, to be quiet.
> >>
> >>
> >> I bless this time to you Jim, and Marcy, and Matthew, as a time of
> >> enabling
> >> grace and abiding peace and holy rest.
> >>
> >> We are with you and we love you
> >>
> >> Sally D
> >>
> >>
> >> Tuesday, 22 March 2016, Ginga Wilder <gingawilder at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Jim, Marcy, Matthew, and you remain in my prayers.  I pray especially
> that
> >>> the adjustment will be smooth, especially for Marcy and for you.  You
> >>> are a
> >>> loving caregiver for your wife and the move to Hospice center is sure
> >>> evidence of that.  God hold you all close in this Holy Week.
> >>>
> >>> Ginga
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 11:18 AM, Marion Thompson <
> >>> marionwhitevale at gmail.com <javascript:;>
> >>>
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>> May this be the holiest of weeks for you and Marcy and Matthew.
> >>>>
> >>>> Marion, a pilgrim
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On 3/22/2016 10:19 AM, James Handsfield wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Good day, everyone -
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Thank you for your continued prayers for Marcy, Matthew, and me.
> Over
> >>>>> the past couple of months, it’s become increasingly clear that I can
> no
> >>>>> longer provide the kind of care Marcy needs, both physically and
> >>>>> emotionally.  So . . . tomorrow, Marcy will become resident at
> Hospice
> >>>>> Atlanta Center.  I’ll still be able to take her out to church, lunch,
> >>>>> dinner, etc., and even bring her home for a few days (kind of reverse
> >>>>> respite) for special occasions.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Not how I’d envisioned Holy Week, but it’s for the best for all of
> us.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> -------------------------------------
> >>>>> Education is its own reward, both for the individual and for society.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Jim Handsfield
> >>>>> jhandsfield at att.net <javascript:;>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> .
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >
>