Thomas Abbott

Granddad Ted passed away this morning.

An upstanding character who loved to share his sweets, and stories of the war. He slipped away peacefully, after a few years of slow and sad deterioration. Feelings of his passing guiltily brush against relief.

I did not know him well. My own response takes me to a place that contemplates the disturbing reality of how life can end by just slowly fading away…  It doesn’t seem right. What is the point in those final, empty years? What was worth hanging on for?

As if to suggest an answer, today in the UK, Ray Gosling has been arrested for ‘murdering’ his partner as he suffered on his death bed, desperate to be killed, but unable to help himself. They had a pact with each-other, and Ray kept his word. Cue the the inevitable media debates, and thrashings of conflicting opinions.

Who knows?

Life is God’s gift to me now, and my response should be what I do with it before the day ends. He’s told us not to worry about tomorrow.

I thank God for hope.