 By Ruthanna Powell Relationship Champion and Encompass Partner When I asked Chuck and Gale Poole how they’ve managed to stay married for 50 years, Chuck laughed and said, “When the kids were home and I was upset, I could talk to them. After they left, I talked to the dog. Then the dog died—and we had to learn to communicate!”
That bit of humor sums up a lot about Chuck and Gale. Their relationship is real, resilient, and rooted in faith. As they look back on their golden anniversary, they shared what has carried them through five decades of marriage.
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 By Lavern and Ronda Nissley Team Nissley Coaching & Consulting A surge of sadness and loss went through me the first time I (Lavern) saw my Dad walking more slowly and hunched over. He had always been active and a rather fast walker. Now he looked like an old man. Fortunately, this image of Dad didn't catch us off guard since we had numerous discussions with Mom and Dad about this stage of life. But it still hit me to see such a vivid picture of irreversible aging.
In 2018, after months of Ronda visiting her parents weekly in London, Ohio (about 45 minutes from our home in Springfield), we arrived at the mutual decision to relocate them to Wooded Glen, a long-term care facility in Springfield. In 2019, we did the same for Lavern's parents, moving them from Arthur, Illinois, to a condo in Springfield. These decisions were fully processed with respective parents and siblings, with the idea that the two of us would take the lead in helping our parents navigate their twilight years. Only one of those four parents is still living. Lavern's Dad passed in November 2021, his Mom in March 2023, and Ronda's Mom in September 2023. Ronda's Dad is approaching his 95th birthday on August 17. So, how did this all work out? How were relationships affected? What did we learn about the initiative to care for our aging parents?  By: Joe Kowalski
Encompass Champion Like many of you I have a few choice verses and even books of the Bible I gravitate towards. The first book of the Bible I can remember reading was James, New testament, not very long and very practical for new a believer. There are several verses that even non-Christians would likely be familiar with even if they couldn’t cite them: John 3:16 (for God so loved the world…), Genesis 1:1 (In the beginning…), and then there are the verses that are often misquoted: ‘God helps those who help themselves’ most often attributed to Ephesians 2: 4-5, and ‘Money is the root of all evil’ pulled from 1 Timothy 6:10. And then there are those verses that we just can’t seem to get away from….in a good way. They pop up in sermons, in small group, and seem to apply to so many situations we are going through in life.  By: Hollie Kowalski
Encompass Outreach Coordinator If you are anything like me, you started 2023 with a short list of big goals, maybe a resolution or two, much anticipation about a fresh start going into the new year, a bit melancholy about the quick passing of time and some feelings of disappointment over the setbacks and unmet expectations of the year prior. As we conclude this year, I’m choosing to focus on finishing well in preparation for a fabulous start to 2024. I invite you to join me! I believe a few great ways we can end the year well are...  Our theme for November blog posts is on "finishing well." Especially the impact that doing so has upon relationships.
By Lavern Nissley Encompass Executive Director Finishing has been a major theme for Ronda and me the past several years. In 2018-2019 we moved our four octogenarian parents to Springfield from Central Illinois (my parents) and London, Ohio (her parents) to Springfield, Ohio where we could more easily support them in their twilight years. All of them eventually became residents of Forest Glen or Wooded Glen. We literally came into the world with nothing, unable to care for ourselves. And typically, that's how we're going to leave this world. Three of our four parents have crossed the final finish line of life: my Dad, November 12, 2021; my Mom, March 6, 2023; and Ronda's Mom, September 26, 2023. Ronda and I are also looking at closing a major chapter in our own lives as we step away from executive leadership at Encompass by June 1, 2024. So, finishing . . . finishing well has been on our minds a lot! My heart kind of jumped when I heard the theme for blogs this month. |
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HostsDr. David Marine and Theresa Mabry are Co-Directors of Encompass since June 1, 2024. TOPICS
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Program content is the sole responsibility of Encompass Connection Center and does not necessarily represent the views of the funders.
Encompass Connection Center services are provided to all eligible persons on a non-discriminatory basis. Encompass Connection Center complies with all applicable laws and regulations concerning discrimination does not discriminate on the basis of the potential participant's race, gender, gender orientation, age, disability or religion.
Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 37-1485217