Nebraska Synod ELCA

By Sarah Callahan, Lutheran Giving

The changing of seasons is one of the things I love most about living in Nebraska. I may favor one season over the other and I definitely have opinions about which one should last longer than some of the others, but I truly love each one. Each new season brings new colors, smells and flavors. I remember as a child how I looked forward to certain foods that could only be found in a particular season and how I savored them while it lasted.

Life also has its seasons, each one bringing its own unique pleasures and challenges. But these seasons only last so long and we don’t want to be caught unprepared. What season of life are you in, and are your plans up to date for the coming season?

In the season of our early adult life when things are new, we prepare by making plans for the unexpected. Knowing life is uncertain and wanting to protect and provide for our loved ones we may purchase life insurance and craft our first will.

In the middle season of life things may be a little more settled, and we may be more confident in our ability to provide financially for our loved ones. But now our health is less certain than when we were young. We know we won’t live forever and so we prepare by putting together health care directives, living wills (for end-of-life decisions), financial and medical powers of attorney. We put these tools in place to assure that our intentions are known and carried out, even if we are unable to express them. We make these preparations so our loved ones don’t have to make agonizing decisions during deeply emotional times.

In the third and final season of our life on earth (and in anticipation of our life to come), we think more in terms of final preparations.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can be prepared for the current season of your life, I’d be happy to visit with you.

Sarah Callahan is the Executive Director of Lutheran Giving. Her services are available at no charge to individuals interested in creating estate gifts that will provide funding to local congregations, other ministries of the ELCA, and to charitable causes important to them. She can be reached at (402) 342-5728 or scallahan@lutherangiving.org. The information provided here is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal, investment, or tax advice.