Just received a sad text message from a brother J that lives about 100 miles distant. Another brother JJ that lives with him had some kind of catastrophic intestinal bleeding today and is now in a hospital ER.
Both my beloved parents, a younger beloved sister (very religious, pneumonia during pandemic) and another brother (drug use) have passed into eternity. I have 4 remaining younger brothers with 2 of them suffering from serious kidney and more issues due to years of alcohol drinking, even now, after decades of other abusive drug use. J is in moderate health and another brother S regularly abuses himself with alcohol even though he has been warned not to.
None of them are religious so when they are gone, it is their certain end. I would pray now for JJ but wonder praying about for what reason? That he might live another day to walk down to his nearby convenience store for a case of beer? Or pray that his life he apparently doesn't value end peacefully without pain? Many of we seniors are increasingly facing similar issues in our mortal lives.