Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8456 Plough Quarterly • Autumn 2016 the most profound privileges of my life. This mutual burdensomeness is part of what makes us human. God himself shares in this – bearing our sins and suffering on the cross (Isa. 53:3–5). The Incarnation reveals another depth of human existence, for as Jesus was once a helpless baby, needing to be fed, washed, and changed, so he was also a dying man who needed care and company in his final hours. In taking on our humanity, God endowed every helpless baby and every dying person with the same value and dignity. In caring for our children and the dying, we care also for him (Matt. 25:35–40). It is one of the most remarkable wonders and mysteries of the and independence and the feeling that life has lost meaning and joy. 1 Yet scripture tells us that we are meant to be burdensome to one another (Gal. 6:2). I was a burden to my mother at the start of my life. I saw this as I cared for her and my eight-month-old daughter at the same time. I had to feed both of them, change their diapers when they soiled themselves, soothe them to sleep when they were distressed. My mother had done all of this for me, and now I was doing it for her. There was a natural symmetry. And while I wish my mother had had many more years of life, I would not have given up the chance to be with her and care for her in those final weeks. It was one of Deidre Scherer, Huddle, thread on fabric, 34 x 34” The artist Deidre Scherer is a pioneer in her medium of thread- on-layered-fabric. She has created two narrative series – The Last Year and Surrounded by Family & Friends – that promote an open dialogue about aging and dying as a natural part of life. Visit dscherer.com. Image © Deidre Scherer 2010. Used by permission of the artist.