Sunset Hope: Pathways at the End of Life

By Sandy Robinette

SUNSET HOPE. A clear-eyed look at the facts and feelings of the journey to the end of life allows the author to use her experiences as a caregiver to her beloved to bring hope and solace. Her faith drives her need to offer real empathy in ageing, as she welcomes her own passing years.

Using poetry, meditation, prayers, and essays, she explores some of the pathways to the end of life. Practical and spiritual, personal and borrowed wisdom mixes in a rich potpourri of the ways to approach our final act here on earth – death.

You are not alone in your journey. Here is a woman who warmly offers her hand as friend and companion on the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798385009770

Sandy Robinette

Sandy Robinette is the pen name of a Tidewater Virginia poet who has been writing for eight decades. The subject matter in this current book, Sunset Hope, is totally relevant to life as she is living it. Encouraged by the success of her first book, Of Things Visible and Invisible, she decided to share the insights she is learning as she ages. “Death is seldom mentioned in conversation with ageing people. As persons of faith, I think we have the advantage of belief in an afterlife. But we will all face this fact of living and dying. Living this life with grace, hope, and faith can make sense of the suffering we see or endure until we die. This book walks some of the paths that the end of life follows with wisdom and love. I hope you find solace and hope too.” Widowed twice, Sandy knows the life of the caregiver, grief, widowhood. The joys of life become more precious as you age and she brings those forward with the more somber notes of the book. Her eight children are a constant source of support and companionship, which allows her to live safely in a senior community. The surprising encounters with grandchildren and two great grandchildren delight her. She has taken an attitude of gratitude for her family, keeping them daily in her prayers.

Book preview

SUNSET HOPE.

The setting sun reminds us of beauty and profound change. Day to night.

Life to death to…

Isn’t that the hope we hold in facing death?

Why now?

The jolt of my 85th birthday, and the deaths of three friends my age, compelled me to take a good look at the end of my life. My intuition and a heart condition say it’s just around the corner.

So, friends, walk with me as I maneuver my way and share how it feels. What I have learned, and what I haven’t deciphered yet. I’ve collected my poems and essays, drawing from my heart and the daily news. From prayers answered or in process and borrowed prayers from other writers. I strive to learn God’s will for me, up to the last minute. That diminishing allows our God to love us more than ever, as I await the end. Thank you for being willing to walk with me.

MUSTARD SEEDS …

Tiny little things in your hand.

What do you do with them?

Jesus invites us

to drop them in a

hole in the ground …

and get out of the way.

From this smallest of seeds

comes a grand bush,

a tree almost,

good for flavoring, yellow and hot.

Healthy life, cleansing and unique.

Beauty to the eye too.

This book is my

second mustard seed.

The Spirit poked me

to get serious about

sowing this seed.

Ouch!

Beginning at

the End

BEGINNING AT THE END:

DEATH, DEAD, DYING.

Death is inevitable so I don’t worry about it. I can talk about it because Death is just a word in a dictionary or a textbook. Not much reality there. Almost academic.

Nothing to be afraid of. Easy to think it is years to come, the distant future.

Dead. Everything’s over. Is there life after death? Big question.

My answer is yes.

I believe this because I have faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus died a horrible death on a cross to redeem me, and you. He rose from the grave, and lives now with God the Father, in loving unity with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus walked on earth after his rising from the dead, ate breakfast (lunch and dinner), talked to his apostles, and hundreds of others. He promised I would be able to come to him if I follow his commandments …

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.*

Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12: verses 30-31. (NAB)

He comes to me in the Holy Eucharist during the Mass and incorporates me into Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

How it all works, I don’t know. In faith, I believe it because Jesus himself says so. And he doesn’t lie. If this isn’t true and He is lying, then my faith is in vain.*

I believe.

As St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:55.

"Death is swallowed up in