In my father’s last days, his hunger vanished. As he shrunk like a hollowed out husk, his spirit being gathered by the very hand of God, his appetites died within him. The hospice nurse handed me a pamphlet about the stages of death and closed her palm gently over the back of my hand. “Fluid and food decrease. Your loved one may want little or no food or fluid. The body will naturally conserve energy required for the task ahead. Food is no longer needed. As the end-of-life …
grief
Asking Jesus Why?-An (In)courage Post
I awoke hours before the alarm clock went off. I curled on my side like the swirl of a shell, hollowed and echoing emptiness within. My hand rested on my belly, swollen beside me. I showered that morning, letting the hot water run down my face, mingling with tears. My eyes were puffy, the whites traversed with spidery red lines like an atlas of the world. They stared back at me from the swiped clearing I made through the thick steam on the mirror. I was a lost girl. My ragged wet hair dripped …
When We Need to Lament: An Incourage Post
The sheet breaks loose from the gurney and the plastic mattress lurches up like a belch when I curl myself fetal. I struggle to position myself away from my body. To push my synapses away from muscle and bone and receptors and find solace in the quiet hush of a body without pain. But the agony lives in me. How does one escape what hurts from the inside out? Continue Reading... …
