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Be Not Afraid Dyingin resisting old age with every fiber of her being, shehas literally kept herself alive.Then there is Esther, the stepdaughter of one of mysisters, who was diagnosed with an aggressive cancerwhen she was ten. Within days this lively girl who lovedto skip rope, play tag, and go horse riding with herfather found herself confined to a bed. Soon afterwardone of her legs had to be amputated. Esther wept, thenpulled herself together and asked for a prosthesis.“I’ll be walking by Christmas – just wait and see,” shepromised. Later she went blind. Again she refusedto be cowed, and spoke of continuing to take pianolessons anyway. Cheerful and plucky, she didn’t die ofcancer so much as fight it until the end.With the will to live, a person can overcomeunbelievable odds. But death cannot be forestalledforever, and eventually physical life must draw toa close. Strangely, our culture resists this truth.In Florida, thousands of the elderly congregate inretirement communities where they dance, date,exercise, and sunbathe – and pay exorbitant amountsfor facelifts to keep up the appearance of perpetualyouth. No one would begrudge the aged a chanceto have fun or “live life to the full.” But at the sametime there is something disturbing about acting likeyou’re twenty when you’re really seventy – as if such168