Best day of my dad's life

Last night at 10:38pm my dad closed his eyes on earth and opened them up in the presence of the Almighty. Without a doubt, it was the best day of his life.

It's been such an extraordinary journey. I'm here to tell you that he shocked every health care worker involved. They continuously said that he was in the "last stages"...so much so that it was hard to truly be prepared for the end because those "last stages" lasted 4 days longer than anyone had envisioned possible. But that's my dad...say it should be done like "this" and you better believe he's going to find his own way to get it done!

Last night was a very sweet time for me, a gift to a son who loved his dad very much yet never got to spend near enough time with him. Since his condition had been somewhat stable, we decided that everyone else would go back home to be with their families (speaking mainly of Vicki and my sister, Kathy). I told them I would call if things changed and it seemed he was spiraling downward.

I say it was a "sweet time" because I spent a few hours reading and singing to him, as well as just talking...the kind of talking that happens on any old day between a son and his dad. I read a few chapters from a parenting book that I had and talked about how hard it was to be a dad...that surely he could attest. We read quite a lot from God's Word, something all of us have done with him, and talked about how he was so close to being inserted into the descriptions of what we were reading about in the presence of God. There was a lot said, much expressed that I believe was necessary...for me and quite possibly for him.

Things changed very quickly....too quickly in fact for anyone else from my family to make it back in time. A dear friend of ours, who works at the nursing home and lives very close nearby, came up to be with me as I was seeing my dad through the end of his struggles. Imagine that after all of this time...after these 5 days or slight changes, the end came in less than 30 minutes after I saw some stark changes in his condition. It was so fast.

We said goodbye to my dad and her friend by holding his hands and reading Psalms into his ear. And it was as if the Lord was even guiding our reading, as we skipped around unintentionally to different Psalms that seemed to speak absolutely directly to what was happening in our midst...how our sorrows were being turned to joy...what true worship of the Lord looks like. After about 10 minutes of this, my dad finally let go and found himself standing face to face with Jesus. Amazing.

We're...I'm doing ok. Of course there is pain and I know it hasn't all completely set in yet. I was showered with God's grace and peace last night after a few minutes of mourning. I'm telling you that it was as if I couldn't stop smiling as I thought about where he was now...what he was doing...what he was seeing. There's no way that my grief could compare with my joy, knowing the utter euphoria that my dad was experiencing and how there was absolutely no way I'd prefer him to be back here struggling with me. That perspective can only come through the hope I have in my Lord. It was a gift from Him and no doubt an answer to some many prayers.

I really do want to post soon about some of the wonderful things that God did through all of this...but not just yet. We've been on a long, hard journey over the last couple of years, haven't we? But God has orchestrated a masterpiece in our lives. I'm so thankful to have had you all along with us.

Grace and peace!