My dad died early this morning and I'm sure many are wondering how I am handling it. Will the bubble burst and Brenda come tumbling out in a heap? I think not. My Father has been working behind the scenes to prepare me for this inevitable day. I stand in awe of my God...His bountiful love and mercy continue to overflow in my life even in the midst of this potential heart wrenching scenario.
A few months ago we began to share spiritual things with each other. I never knew this side of my dad before. God had obviously been working in his heart to prepare him for eternity.....in answer to my mother's continued prayers for him. He told me he was mending fences and he let me in on two of them. There may be others I don't yet know of. But I witnessed the mending of the last one this past Sunday evening just before heading back to Kingston after a visit. His work on earth was finally done.
I spoke with him on the phone twice during the day yesterday and he seemed fine and was looking forward to my visit today and the move to the retirement home on Monday. Sometime during the evening he told one of the nurses that he wasn't going to make it through the night. My brother was called in the wee hours and drove my stepmother to the hospital. They didn't quite make it in time. The nurse said he only suffered for the last two hours. In the meantime Rick and I were sleeping peacefully in Leamington. The call didn't come through at 3 a.m. because my cell phone was out of battery power and brother David didn't know where I was. The Lord knew I needed to sleep and arranged for that.
When the phone rang at 6:30 a.m., it was daughter Melody bearing the news that he had passed on. I was not shocked because the Lord had prepared me in a dream about a week ago. I dreamt that Dad died before he had a chance to move into the retirement home. I didn't share this dream with anyone because you can't always rely on dreams. Sometimes they are just crazy nonsense. This one obviously was not. I thank my loving Heavenly Father for His care and concern for me in the forewarning I received.
The crowning touch of my Father's loving hand was the date he chose for Dad's homegoing....my parent's wedding anniversary. Rick and I had talked about it in the car on the way to Leamington. I shed tears this morning but they were tears of joy, not sorrow. My father is in a better place free of pain and suffering and reunited with his beloved wife on their anniversary......and I know how special I am to my heavenly Father. I'm His favorite!.....just kidding.... :)
"And now brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet Him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words." I Thessalonians 4:13-18
I look forward to the week ahead.....with joy....the joy of being with family and friends.....and celebrating my father's life together!
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Hey Bren, do you think Dad showed up in heaven with a big bouquet of 61 roses? (One for every year.) I do!
And by the way, I think you are His favourite. How do I know? Because we ALL are!!!!!
Like you, I am missing Dad, but so overwhelmed by the many evidences of the goodness of God and many expressions of love from the community of faith. We are truly blessed... See you soon!
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