Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
On April 26th this verse came alive and penetrated my soul.
After the initial call that my dad took a fall we began a journey that twisted and turned for 3 ½ weeks. The “New norm” became the unknown and the center of our Universe became Jefferson Hospital.
We were thankful to have my dad in one of the best hospitals. It was a comfort for us to know that although my dad was having complications, surely the top notch medical professionals would figure it all out and make my dad well again. In addition so many were praying for my dad. After a week of him being down right entertaining and funny (oh the stories we have to tell!) due to assumed anesthesia delirium, he went in to a coma like state, and it became more and more confusing as to why his mental status was failing. Numerous tests, scans, and MRI’s confirmed there was nothing medically wrong with my dad, yet a cascade of events led us down a road of realizing dad’s body was shutting down and no one knew why.
So many were praying for a miracle… On May 19th God chose to take my dad home.
We never got the answers we were looking for but I can tell you this. We got the answers we needed for the moment, to take the very next step. Our walk with God became a moment by moment process. There were days we did not know what to do or how to make decisions, yet He truly guided our path. Our circumstances were difficult, but our strength was sufficient.
On behalf of our family I want to thank so many of you who gave of yourselves continuously and effortlessly over the last month to help our family and my mom. We knew we were being lifted up, at times we felt as if we were being carried. There were times when no words could explain the despair in our hearts, yet we knew God did.
So we look back on this time in our lives as bittersweet. We have suffered a loss; my dad will be missed dearly. As my mom and I wept by my dad’s bed after he passed she said “I never doubted for a minute that he loved me….no woman has been loved as much as me”. For a woman who never boasts or brings attention to herself, that was a powerful statement I will never forget. A parade of doctors and nurses came to pay their respects with tears in their eyes. Mom and I were able to share our hope that we will see my dad again in heaven…..he was no longer in the body in the bed, dad was standing face to face with Jesus looking into his eyes. It was an honor to give God the glory in such a difficult time.
There was one doctor who touched our lives in a way that keeps me wondering if she was an angel sent by God. She reached out, entered into our world, and walked the journey with us to the end. Thank you Dr. Kumar.
In the midst of my dad’s delirium and before he went into a coma like sleep he called my mom and I over to his bedside. It was to be his last lucid moment of his life. He shared a few special words of encouragement to me and he told my mom he loved her one last time…then he told us it will all be over. I guess he knew he was getting ready to go home.
I will miss my dad and our coffee hour every Friday morning. I was consistently 10 – 15 minutes late, yet I was always greeted with a big smile, we both looked forward to our time together.
Thank you for coming to share our tribute to dad, we love and appreciate all of you, and thank you for your prayers, and being such a special part of our lives.
Grace and blessings,
Debbie
