The Final Choice

"Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?" You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me"; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding "?" Isa. 29:15-16 (NIV)

It is a top news headline- Brittany Maynard (Diaz) chose to end her life this weekend in Oregon, under the "Death with Dignity Act."  Maynard, a terminally ill patient with an inoperable brain tumor, decided  that the death that would come to her via her illness, was too dreadful to contemplate or endure.  Because of this decision, she, her family, and husband relocated to Oregon where the law permits terminally ill patients, who are in their right mind, to obtain a lethal dose of Barbiturates and other medications to shorten their dying.

When I first read the article about her in "People" magazine, and later through numerous internet articles, my heart was gripped with anguish for this beautiful 29-year-old newlywed.  Previously a school teacher planning to start a family, Maynard was diagnosed January 1st, after headaches became unbearable.  When she had exhausted all of the options she wanted to employ, she made the difficult choice to end it all.  This thrust her in the unexpected role of beautiful spokeswoman for the "right to die" movement. 

Where do you fall in that argument?  Is that a choice you believe you would make?  Is that a choice you could live with a loved one making?  Can we even know what we would do in such a situation?

I honestly am not interested in engaging in a political debate.  To me, this is a spiritual issue.  Although it is not popular these days to state this, there truly are moral absolutes.  I fondly call them "The Bible".  It is filled with "do's and don'ts."  But not to the end of religion.  Rather, to the end of relationship.  God loves us so much that He tells us what we must do to walk in fellowship with Him and what we must avoid to maintain that intimacy.

To me, Brittany Maynard's tragedy is even greater than whether or not suicide is a sin.  It goes back to "square one".  The Lordship issue.  Is there a God?  Is it alright with Him if we choose to terminate a life because it is not convenient?  Because it is painful?   Because birth is not desirable or the expiration date is too close at hand? 

I believe with all my heart that there is a God.  One God. That He is the Creator of every living person and that as the Creator, He alone has the right to begin or end a life.  But what has "gutted" me about this situation is that Maynard apparently did not feel she had access to grace and mercy to endure the hard times.  She seemingly did not know that there was more to life than what we experience in this world.  And that is imminently sad to me.  If I did not believe in a loving Creator-God, then perhaps such a decision would feel right to me as well.

She is gone.  Whether or not you, or I, believe she made the right choice, she has eternally cast her lot.  I do not condemn her.  I feel for her.  My heart breaks for the grief-stricken family.  It is hard to understand why people have to endure such hardship and pain in this life.  There are times, that we all wish we could hit the "escape" switch- should one truly exist.  But if we sincerely believe God is the author of life, then He alone gets to sign off at the conclusion of our story, "The End."

I am also concerned for the ripple effect this can ultimately cause.  Whether or not you believe a person has the right to make a choice to end their life.  Whether alone or  with doctor-assisted suicide, we must realize that once this gate is open, the fall-out will be farther reaching than we imagine. 

People hurt.  They face real, messy, complicated choices.  Choices that weigh heavily on the mind.  Choices that have lifelong (to eternal) consequences. Many of these choices are unavoidable.  But is living or dying really a choice, we, as mere humans, make? 

Some people consider it a negative to have a God who call the shots.  But I, for one, am grateful that He is seated on the throne over my life.  I don't have to be.  I don't have to know everything.  I just know that He loves me.  He wants what  is best for me and He has the power to give me grace to walk through anything He does not deliver me from.

And in Him, I have HOPE!  Hope of help.  Hope of healing.  Hope of eternity in heaven with Him, where there will be no more pain, death, or suffering.

Dear God, I pray today for those grappling with the Lordship issue.  I pray for those who have not yet chosen to give their life to you.  I pray for those who are bearing the unbelievable strain of making horrible choices within the confines of their own knowledge or understanding.  And Lord, I pray for the precious family of Brittany Maynard Diaz.  Please, Lord, comfort them and carry them through their grief, and help us to show them Your love.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.