SENTINEL WATCH July 16, 2007 Issue

BUT WHAT ABOUT LIFE?

BARBARA M. VINING

I WAS VISITING AN ACQUAINTANCE who was a patient in a hospice. The beautifully landscaped grounds and pleasing architecture of the building were warmly inviting. The interior décor was gently pleasing and homelike. And above all, the genuine tenderness and love shown by the staff were extraordinarily comforting. The overarching purpose was to remove suffering from the experience of the patients—a highly commendable, noble motive. I deeply appreciated the loving care that was being given these dear patients.

At one point during my visit, I stepped out of the patient's room and went for a walk along the paths on the park-like grounds. It felt like heaven on earth. Why, then, did I feel a sense of rebellion rise up within me? As someone who considers Christian Science her viewpoint, I knew there was another perspective to life other than decline and death.

By definition, a hospice is a "homelike facility to provide supportive care for terminally ill patients." It was the sense of finity and hopelessness that I couldn't submit to. My whole being was asking, "But what about Life?"