Did we learn?

Warning: I need to vent and ramble here for a while...

I guess you have already heard....
Terri Schiavo, the woman who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died Today, 13 days after the tube was removed. She was 41. Schiavo died at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her in the nation's most bitter — and most heavily litigated — right-to-die dispute.APNews

I am glad that Terri is finally at rest. I hope her family finds some solace in that. They have all been on a long, rough ride. So much has been said. So many accusations.
Do we believe that Terri's husband had her best interest at heart?
Do we believe that her brain was a blob of deteriorating mush?
Do we believe the sister-in-law who swears that Terri said she would never want to live like a vegetable? or the sister who said Terri was a firm believer in life at all cost?
Do we think that there is nothing wrong with her being fed for the rest of her years by her parents and family?
Do we believe the nurses who claim her husband abused her?
Do we believe the priest who says she closed her eyes when he started praying and opened them when he finished?
Do we believe the hospice workers who say they never saw her respond to anyone in five years?
And finally, now that she is gone, does any of this even matter?

The AP quoted Jeb Bush as saying "After an extraordinarily difficult and tragic journey, Terri Schiavo is at rest. I remain convinced, however, that Terri's death is a window through which we can see the many issues left unresolved in our families and in our society. For that, we can be thankful for all that the life of Terri Schiavo has taught us."

Did we really learn something of value from the life and death of Terri Schiavo?

Personally, I feel I learned about the importance of living wills. I have made a point of telling my husband and parents exactly how I feel about artificially prolonging my life and renewed my living will. However, I honestly think my husband and parents were well aware of how I felt before Terri Schiavo.

I learned that our culture has become very caustic when it comes to disagreements, even outside of political arenas. No longer do opponents respect each other and treat one another with an implied amount of courtesy and dignity. For politicians, supporters of the left or the right, all those in the middle, and even for the judges who sit on the bench, this was an ugly, dirty fight. Are there any winners in this case? Is there a better way to disagree than to try to verbally annihilate those who disagree or to try to legislate or litigate people into submission?

None of the lessons I have learned from this case seem justify the pain, anger, hate and division it seems to have caused, except for maybe this... This world is not our home! The Terri Schiavo story has really driven home the truth about this life being temporal for me. We are here for just a little while to build the life that we will go to next.

Terri Schiavo is now living her eternal life.
I wonder if the 26 year old who collapsed when her heart stopped 15 years ago woke up in heaven today and found it so peaceful that she didn't even wonder what had happened to her here on earth?
I wonder if she feels that she could have done more or if she has regrets?
I wonder if she can see her parents and husband only for their intense devotion to and love for her?
I wonder if she now has awareness of the angst, pain and bitterness that divides her family and husband yet the perspective to know everything thing on earth is temporal and the ability to be a peace despite the state of her former world?
I wonder what she would tell those of us still here? What would she want us to know and remember? Don't you ever wonder what someone who had died would say if they came back?

Jesus did that for us. He came back to tell us what was really important and what we really needed to focus on in this life. He had the knowledge of death and experience eternal lifefresh on his breath when he said the teaching of the prophets and his teaching were true, we al should receive the holy spirit, and go tell all the nations about him. I guess the question still is ... Did we learn?

As a Christian, I pray that Terri Schindler Schiavo woke up in the arms of her Savior today.
As an American, I pray the bitterness and self glorifying indignation made so apparent by the storm surrounding this woman will give us pause to re-evaluate how we treat our opponents. I sometimes worry that the greatest risk to Amenrica is the growing rift we are developing from with in.
As a mother, I grieve for the Schindlers loss. I pray their grief, pain, and sense of injustice will not hinder them from finding peace.
As a wife, I pray that Michael Schiavo's motives were as pure as Terri's parents love. I hope he and his new family will be able to move on and come to terms with all that has happened.
As a daughter and child of God, I rejoice in the fact that this is not all there is. Whether I am killed instantly in an accident tomorrow, or if I die a slow death at the age of 99, my real life comes after this one. This is not all there is!
And lastly, as a human who walks the planet with the rest of you, I pray I make all the days I am here count!