The repeated juxtaposition of life and death in the Secret Garden has prompted me to reflect on care of the dying rather than the obvious resurrection motif. The death of Mary’s parents leave her orphaned, in grief, and in search for purpose and meaning in order to resume living. The discovery of the “dead” secret garden and the beneficence of Dickon and Maggie open a path to life for Mary. Colin is apparently terminally ill and the grief of his father over his mother’s death blinds him to any hope of future recovery. Thus Colin is cared for with the expectation that his life is ending. There is no offer of hope for recovery except in the process of Mary discovering the garden and its mysterious regeneration. In parallel fashion, as Mary finds new life emerging from the garden with the assistance of Dickon and others, so does Colin discover there is hope and life within him.

In caring for terminally ill patients, it is tempting to turn away because we are mortal and finite. The dying person reminds us that our future is death. Wanting to avoid the reality, many people for Self-protection, abandon the dying to the care of professionals. Contemporary medical ethics struggles to define death on physiological grounds, while medical practitioners use every technological intervention to preserve life, regardless of its quality. Such brinkmanship views death as the enemy to be defeated, as if the creations of science can confer immortality. Medicine claims its mission is healing, restoring the physical body, and preventing death. The refusal to see death as a natural part of life creates the wrong perspective, one of embattlement rather than a process calling forth beneficent care of the human person to the conclusion of biological life. The life within the dying person is one in transition, which invites continued relationship and companioning. We are at risk of missing a glimpse of the transcendent when we abandon the dying person, for in the anticipation of the event those who accept death take on a translucent nature that is unobstructed by the usual concerns of life. They can see beyond the boundary in mysterious ways. Companioning one in the final transition from life to death can mean treading on holy ground.

The symbol and metaphor of the secret garden is the hope of resurrection. A child included in the care of a terminally ill family member readily accepts the hope that the departing grandmother will be with God after she dies. The adults in the same family may well express doubts and sorrow over their loss of a parent or spouse. The ability to foresee the pain of separation directs their attention inward to their loss and distracts their attention from the dying person. Life is finite and fragile. The relationships of family, friends, and community are often the legacy of the life one has lived. The final stage of life, dying, is no less important than the birth event, deserving the full participation and compassion of family and community. When a person making the final transition is abandoned, Christian hope of resurrection fails to be translated into action. Death, so feared by society, posits an opportunity to celebrate the life of the person even as it ends.

The necessary element in resurrection is death and in the hope of resurrection is life eternal. Life restored in the healing of a physical condition is a transient resurrection. The exposure and experience of being with a dying person opens the companion to a fresh examination of the purpose of life and how it is being lived, a different kind of resurrection.. Priorities shift in the face of death such that some projects are deferred and relationships are reorganized. What is truly important receives a higher priority, and what is trivial in the face of death becomes less important. The symbolic power of the Secret Garden is that resurrection requires death, be it spiritual or physical.

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