God created us without the ability to foresee what will happen in terms of our health in the future. If we did have that kind of foreknowledge, I don’t know whether it would produce more or less anxiety for us. Part of the process for making these kinds of plans involves separating helpful and unhelpful information (there is a lot more of the latter than the former).
BMPC’s Caring Ministries team, including our parish nurse, Carol Cherry, our social worker, Kathryn West, and the director of the Middleton Counseling Center, Kiki McKendrick, and myself, have been putting together a symposium that will have plenty of helpful information to guide members and friends in knowing how to be well-prepared for whatever lies ahead. Many of us do have the capacity to think, to explore, and to plan. Some of us have delayed putting together a plan because it is uncomfortable to consider physical and/or mental decline. Whether we have procrastinated or not, part of the difficulty in making such plans lies in the ever-changing nature and costs of healthcare systems.