Devotionals
A Cup Of Cold Water- Reflections of Terri Schiavo (Updated)
I was helping my 9 year old daughter, Tabitha to brush her teeth. She tries hard to get it right, but with Downs’s syndrome, some things don’t come easily. I helped her with a drink. I said, “Look, I can make a cup with my hand and you can have a cold drink of water.” She smiled and slurped it up. Then, my heart froze and I thought of Terri’s Schiavo’s mother. Oh, Lord, she can’t even give her own daughter a cup of cold water. It has been now, 9 days that Terri’s feeding tube has been removed and she has not had neither food or water. My heart aches for her family. Lord, what is going on? What can we learn from this? I cry for her and for my daughter. This world treats the weak with so much contempt."But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;…" (1 Cor. 1:27)
I think, Lord, where are you in this situation? Then, He reminds me of the words that David wrote:"O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee." (Psalm 139:1-4, 17-18) What refreshing and comforting words! Just because Terri Schiavo cannot speak or express her thoughts, doesn’t take away from the fact that God knows and understands her.
"And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42). Lord, whom can I give a cup of cold water today? Lord, make me aware of those who are thirsty. May I use your living water to quench their parched souls. In Jesus name.
Patricia Sprague 3-27-05
3–31–05
Terri Schiavo died today, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed on the order of a state court judge.
6-17-05
Schiavo's brain was damaged in 1990 after she collapsed and suffered heart failure.
Schiavo, 41, died March 31 at a Pinellas Park, Florida, hospice 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by a judge's order.
A seven-year legal battle between Schiavo's husband and parents culminated in a national controversy and prompted action by Congress and the White House.
Jon Thogmartin, medical examiner for Florida's District Six, which includes Pasco and Pinellas counties, said the cause of death was "marked dehydration." Thogmartin said that the autopsy did not determine the cause of her collapse.
He said his examination turned up no sign of abuse or trauma -- allegations leveled by Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, against her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo.
A report from a neuropathologist who served as a consultant to the autopsy said Schiavo's brain was "grossly abnormal and weighed only 615 grams [1.35 pounds]."
That weight is less than half that expected for a woman of her age, said the report written by Dr. Stephen J. Nelson.
Schiavo's brain damage "was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons," Thogmartin said.
"Her brain was profoundly atrophied," he said.
The vision centers of her brain were dead, he said.
But without removal of the feeding tube, and if conditions such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections -- common in bed-ridden patients -- were treated, Terri Schiavo could have lived another decade, Thogmartin estimated.
“Their report shows what we have said -- that Terri was not terminal," said the Schindlers' attorney, David Gibbs. "Terri Schiavo was not in an end-of-life situation. The decision was made to end her life, and we believe it was done in a barbaric manner.
Report from:www.cnn.com
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What a great way to help us understand the story concerning Terry. Thank you.
What a beautiful message for such a tragic situation. This message warmed the pit of my soul. God Bless You!
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