Shari Mason

Austin Congregational Church

In honor of courageous hospice patients, here is a paraphrasing of a beloved Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want — and I shall want — I shall want what I no longer have.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

As I lie in this hospital bed; I will do my best to witness the green of new life. Between the waves of pain; I will rest in the still waters. Through it all, I will trust my soul is being restored.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. What is the right path and what is the wrong path? I know and I do not know. Yet, I will follow the God whose name is Love — who bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I fear no evil — and I fear everything.

For you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me. In the fear, I trust your visible and invisible hand to hold me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; what I thought was impossible is possible.

You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Abundance is mine.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. The end is the beginning. Amen

November is National Hospice Month.