Explore the gifts available to us all around death and dying when Mary Brogdon presents a Home with God by Neal Donald Walsch book study. This group on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. this summer. For more information about location, email Mary at media@cslcv.org.
Here’s what Mary has to say about the book study:
The purpose of this book study is to generate a Big Conversation about death and dying. ( Google Big Talk vs Small Talk) I also want to use this conversation between the author, Neale Donald Walsch and God to unlock some of the mystery surrounding the event we call death and what happens after we die.
In our society, people are so afraid of death, for themselves as well as for anyone that they care about, that they don’t want to talk about it, they don’t even want to think about it. As a result, they procrastinate about making plans for the end of this life, which is a huge disservice to those around them at the end of life.
By not thinking about death, not talking about it, not reading about it, and by trying to shield our children from the perceived pain of it, there is a tendency to remain ignorant about death, and thereby perpetuate the fear of death. Knowledge is power, right?
So my purpose for sharing this book is to open the conversations that we have within our families about death. I’ve heard many people say that when they wanted to talk realistically to their adult children about their plans for end-of-life-care, the children have said, “No, I don’t want to hear that!”
When a person on his/her death bed acknowledges acceptance that death is getting close, their loved one will often say something like, “No, don’t say that. You’re not dying.” Denial can be a healthy thing, but it can also rob us of our chance to share in a moment of meaningful conversation with someone we love and a precious memory to hold in our heart when the person is gone.
When it comes to conversations with our healthcare providers, we make requests of them that ‘everything possible’ be done to save a life, even when “saving a life” may not be “life-giving.”
It says in Home With God “If you look upon every event in your life—including death—as a gift, you will see it as a treasure that will serve you always, and lead you to joy. If you look upon any event, including death, as a tragedy, you will mourn it forever, and receive nothing from it but everlasting sorrow.
“Which brings us to The Fifth Remembrance: Death is never a tragedy. It is always a gift.”
And that is where we’ll begin this week’s discussion.