The Death of Terri Schiavo

Death is our enemy. It begins stalking us the day we are born. Eventually it catches up to us all. Consequently, there is an element of sadness whenever anyone dies. However, certain deaths have a special air of sadness surrounding them. After serving in ministry since the 1970s I have sought to comfort families in almost every imaginable circumstance relating to death. These have ranged from sudden deaths due to an accident or military involvement to slow lingering deaths by AIDS or cancer. I have presided over the funeral of a centurion and the funeral of a young mother taken in the prime of life. I have stood by the casket of my own mother who died at the age of 41 and my father who died at 66. I even delivered the message at my own brother’s funeral, a brother who had taken his own life while in the pit of despair, at the age of 24. So, from numerous experiences I know all too well that while all death is sad, some seem just a bit more so.

The death today of Terri Schiavo is one of those deaths that seem just a bit sadder.

I have read numerous articles and opinions on this matter. One of the most heart wrenching was by a man who wrote from the wheelchair that had been his transportation for over 25 years. His comments were that Terri Schiavo was given the death penalty by starvation as a punishment for having a disability. His question wondering when the death penalty would be extended to situations like his certainly got my attention.

One commentary stated that we starved Terri Schiavo, but a hardened criminal gets something to make his execution a bit easier.

I continually hear stated, “What would Terri want?” Want to know what came through my mind? I bet she would want to not have been in the national spotlight. I bet she would like to have just a bit of privacy. I bet she would want her name off the floor of congress and out of the courtrooms of America. I imagine Terri would want that horrible picture of her in the hospital room to stop being plastered over every major broadcasting means in America from newspapers and television to the Internet.

There is more about this national incident that I do not understand than there is that I do understand it seems. The more I read, the more there is to read. The papers now are telling accounts of Terri’s parents and her husband fighting over her death and body in addition to the monetary awards settlement of a few years back.

In evaluating what I have seen, read, and heard, I have these final comments to offer that we learn or are reminded of by the death of Terri Schiavo.

1. Life is precious. This thing we call life is so very precious. As we have seen, it is hard to define, but by any definition, it is precious. On February 22, I posted a blog called Thoughts on Life and Death, where I talked about the preciousness of life. If life is that precious, and it is, what does that mean for us? It means we should live our lives with gratitude and to the fullest extent. It means we should not take for granted one single breath. It means we should be grateful to God for granting us life to live.

2. Life is fragile. Imagine . . . Terri’s life was so fragile that simply removing a tube could end it. Sting recorded a song with this exact message in 2001. How fragile we are. Remember the people leaping to their deaths from the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001? Life is fragile. It can be snatched away in a moment. Cherish it while you have it.

3. Life is eternal. Our lives do not end when we breathe our last. We continue in eternal blessedness or eternal punishment, but continue on we do. Enjoy your life here. Care for the world around you. But remember, this life is not all there is.

Terri Schiavo may be gone from us, but she teaches us from her grave.