A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? (Proverbs 18:14)

Not too long ago, my grandmother died from complications related to her Alzheimer's Disease.  We were all deeply saddened by the loss, but my grandfather was most devestated.  He and my grandmother had the old-fashioned kind of love, the life-partner kind of love, the 65-years-of-marriage kind of love; so our whole family worried and wondered if the loss of his wife might be a critical blow to my grandfather's well-being, too.  He's always been the healthy one, with absolutely no significant medical problems to speak of, but the days surrounding my grandmother's funeral we all found ourselves wondering how he would hold up.  It's still too early to tell what will become of the whole story, but suffice to say:  I still worry for my grandfather.

It's a common story:  an elderly couple passing away one after the other, in relatively quick succession.  But why?  There's something powerful, though perhaps inexplicable, about the human will to live.  When a person thus makes an emotional or spiritual shift in his life perspective, the physical being is quick to follow.  Basically, a man's spirit sustains him in sickness.  Thus, if there's no spiritual sustenance, the body can do little to resist the natural processes of physical deterioration and disease.  We know this on an intuitive, experiential level -- but I think it's fascinating that the Proverbs put words to this phenomenon some 3000 years ago.  Little pieces of wisdom like this one significantly boost my appreciation for the Proverbs.

As for the fate of a crushed spirit, I'm not so sure it's a bad thing.  If my grandfather were to falter in these weeks or months following the loss of his wife, it would be an understandable thing -- and, perhaps in some ways, a merciful thing... But it's not an inevitable thing.  That's why I've been praying for God to strengthen Grandpa's spirit, to provide him comfort and the level of nearness that only God can provide.  I feel that if God can sustain Grandpa's spirit, than Grandpa's spirit can sustain him through these times of sadness and potential sickness.  It's all in God's hands, and that's a very good thing to realize.  It's wonderful to realize that God can restore anything and anyone from any circumstance.  But ultimately, it's all in God's hands.