An Example of Dying Well

Please read "How to Recover the Lost Art of Dying Well: What Kara Tippetts Taught Us." by Ann Voskamp

Yesterday Kara Tippetts died after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Kara was a mother, a pastor's wife, an author and a blogger. But most importantly, she was a Christian who had learned to live well....and how to die well.

I first became aware of her when she wrote a public open letter to Brittany Maynard, who had very publicly stated her intention to chose assisted suicide due to her brain tumor, rather than go through, and put her loved ones through, a painful lingering death. Kara shared with Brittany (and with us) her own cancer journey, and encouraged the young woman to not take her own life.  Brittany died as she choose last fall. Kara lived on until this week. 

Kara wrote to Brittany: “Suffering is not the absence of goodness, it is not the absence of beauty, but perhaps it can be the place where true beauty can be known. In your choosing your own death, you are robbing those that love you with the such tenderness, the opportunity of meeting you in your last moments and extending you love in your last breaths.” Kara died the way she had encouraged Brittany to - by holding onto life as a gift from God, not to be given up in self will, while also seeing death as not final, as a part of all human existence, and not to be feared. Kara died well.

Kara's friend Ann Voskamp wrote a beautiful and heart rending piece on Kara's testimony and example. I'm not going to quote it. For some reason I feel unworthy to quote it. I can only post the link and encourage you to please read it, and let it change you.

Again, please read "How to Recover the Lost Art of Dying Well: What Kara Tippetts Taught Us." by Ann Voskamp