Holding On To Hope

Courtesy Google Images

 

 

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."

~Havelock Ellis

 

 

When you hold on to the hand of someone on life support, it really makes you think about what holding on really means.  So much of the time in life we are told to just let go.  It could be resentment, un-forgiveness towards a family member, or a box that is too heavy for our strength to attempt carrying.  Whatever it may be, we are instructed to let go, but standing here in the ICU of the hospital, I am overwhelmed with the helpless feeling of the need to hold on for dear life.  Each time I reach out to this weak hand, she still squeezes with a strong grip, as if saying “don’t let me go, please don’t let me go.”  Life is such a fragile thing.  When our life is healthy and whole we tend to take it for granted and let it loose like a dog with no leash through an open gate.  Yet when it is no longer completely within our grasp we want to protect it and hold on to its leash securely and never let go.  As I stand here beside this bed with tubes and devices all over the place, I hold on to a precious hand, and I can only think about just that, holding on tenderly and never letting go.   A once vibrant young woman is now reliant on a machine for air to live, and everything is uncertain.  I only know that she does not want me to let go of her hand, and I do not want her to let go of the will to survive.

Please pray for Jennifer.