About two years ago, my Dad went into the hospital with Pancreatitis, gall stones, and kidney stones- all of which are very serious, especially for a man of 66 years old and not in top condition to begin with. He had been taken by care-flight to Renown in Reno and from the beginning the Doctors didn’t have a very good prognosis. At one point the doctors explained to us that he had flat-lined and they had to bring him back.
One day specifically, was very hard. The surgeon who had been on my Dad’s case told us plainly that his pancreas had disintegrated and that no one can live without a pancreas. His conclusion was that my Dad would not leave the hospital alive and that he only had days to live. I remember the pain and heart ache that I felt when I first heard those words. My heart was breaking. I was only 23 years old. My Daddy couldn’t leave yet. I went to the waiting room with my amazing friend Jeni and we began to pray. The Lord lead us to read the Word and as we read we came upon the story of Lazarus. Could it be? Was it possible that my Dad could leave the hospital by the power of God? My mind told me no, but my Spirit felt that it was right. As we prayed the Lord spoke to me, I heard Him say over and over again, “My Name will by glorified. You see from below but I see from above. It is so much bigger… it isn’t about you or even your Dad… My Name WILL be glorified.”
Jeni and I left the waiting room encouraged and knowing, that no matter what it looked like and no matter what happened, that God would be glorified through my Daddy’s life. A couple of months later my Daddy came home! He still had several different issues and he definitely had not seen his last hospital, but he DID leave the hospital and when he came home, he came with a new idea of what life should be like. He came home with a passion and a zeal for Jesus Christ like he had never had before… he was a revived man.
He went from being a man of his living room chair and racing to a man who could not help but talk about Jesus and what He had done in his life. Ever since I had been born my Dad had committed his life to the Lord. Early on in my life he was very involved in the church that I grew up in, but then there was a time when he backed off a bit. For all of my life, I knew my Daddy believed in Jesus, but I would seldom hear him speak of God apart from church and Sundays. It wasn’t until I was a sophomore in college and my Daddy volunteered to drive with me back to Indiana, so that I would have a car at school that I learned about his walk with his heavenly Daddy! During that trip I found out how he first met the Lord. I learned of Jesus’ power in his life. I learned of miracles that God had done throughout my Dad’s life. I learned of the true worship experiences that my Dad had during the first years of being a believer and I learned of his love for his Jesus. What a blessing those times were. At that time, I learned that my Dad was much more than a church-goer, He was I lover of Jesus!
Now, after his time in the hospital, everyone else was now able to see his great love for the Lord. They saw the change in my Daddy and no one could doubt Who he lived for. Even his demeanor seemed to change. At times, growing up, my Dad had been short tempered and he frequently used his infamous string of curse words, but after he left the hospital, the words were seldom heard and there was a constant peace and love about him.
My Daddy was also filled with a new boldness and sudden urge to call almost everyone that he hadn’t talked to in years. Most of the time it just left me wondering what was going through his head, and yet it was a very sweet time. It was as if he had been given a second chance to live for the Lord- a personal revival.
He became a very sentimental and emotional man. This was most evident when he listened to a song called “How He Loves.” For the last six months or so my Dad would play this song for every single person that walked into his house, and every time he got to the third verse of the song (that can only be heard when sung by John Mark McMillan) the tears would just flow. EVERY TIME! You’d think after a while that he would get numb when listening to this song… NO. Every time it played he was moved… he was moved by the description of God’s love that was so amazingly displayed.
After one of the visits in the hospital the Lord had given him a vision of reaching out to those who don't have the hope of Christ through that song a long with the words of a sermon called "That's My King." My Daddy knew everyone should hear these things and he wanted it all put together with pictures of the Passion of the Christ. So, he set out to planning. Everyone he could get to, he told about his idea. At one point he even got our pastor to show the “How He Loves” video on a Wednesday night before Bible Study and by the end he was standing, singing the song, tears flowing down his cheeks. It was beautiful and his passion was not easily quenched.
Even within the last couple times he returned to the hospital he would speak of how he put on the Spiritual Armor in Ephesians 6 and he would repeat loudly verse 19 of that chapter, “Pray also for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel., for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (NKJV) And let me tell you... every nurse, doctor, and assistant heard about Jesus. That was what he wanted to do… he wanted to speak loudly for all to hear, of the one who loved us, the One who loved so deeply and powerfully, the One whose love went to the point of death to take away our sins. That is who he wanted to tell the whole world about.
So… why am I telling you this? Well, within the last couple weeks a lot has changed. Not Spiritually for my Dad, but physically. He returned to the hospital two weeks ago, where they found that his pancreatitis has returned along with an infection in his blood from an unknown source. While at the hospital, the Doctor gave him two options. 1-He could go on through months of tests and procedures of trying to figure out exactly where this infection is coming from with an unknown end result or 2- He could go home. On Wednesday February 28th my Daddy decided to come home. He was finished and done with being poked and prodded and he was ready to go home, be with his family, rest, and eventually be with his Heavenly Daddy. This last week his body stopped receiving and absorbing all foods and medicines. BUT praise the Lord, God is still working and moving in mighty ways. My Dad has not been in any pain at all- which is more of a miracle then you know! He is comfortable and awaiting the arrival of his Savior.
I am telling you all of this because as my Daddy has comes to the last days of his life, I know he wouldn’t want it to be a time of pity or mourning for you or my family. But, he would want it to be a time of praise, worship, and salvation! I’m not sure who all will be reading this… but I know, no matter how you knew my Daddy, he would want you to know who he is going to meet. He is going to meet his Daddy… His heavenly Daddy! You see he is finally going to see his Lord face to face. He has lived for Him for so long, spoke of Him, listened to Him but at last he is going to receive the goal of his faith, the salvation of his soul! This should not be a time of sadness but a time of jubilee.
Don’t get me wrong, this is going to be a tough time for many who loved my Daddy so much, but only because we will miss his presence here with us. The truth is… we are the ones jealous of him, but we look forward to being reunited with him one day! Until then I think my Daddy would want to ask… DO YOU KNOW HIM? Do you know that He is jealous for you? Here is the song How He Loves by John Mark McMillan- my Daddy would want you to hear it!
He is jealous for me. Loves like a hurricane, I am the tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great Your affections are for me… OH, How He Loves Us; Oh, How He Loves Us; How He Loves US, Oh.
We are His portion, and He is our prize; drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes; if His grace is an ocean we’re all sinking. So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about… the way He loves us
Whoa, How He loves us
Whoa, How He loves us
Oh, How He LOVES!
