8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.
Psalm 145 (KJV)
Dear Friends,
It has been approximately 6 weeks since my last blog post and I am happy to report the good Lord has been at work in our family and my father's current situation.
Father is currently living in a nursing home that is staffed with competent, caring and compassionate souls. After Peggy's death, the staff and some of the patients reached out to Dad with sympathy and understanding. Dad appears to be content there, though I know it is hard for him to give up his independence. I try to visit at least twice a week (it is a 45 minute drive from my home) and supply him with easy to read books, cookies, muffins and family pictures. The family pictures and articles from our family history blog seem to help his memory and give him a sense of identity. Dad will be 83 years old in 9 days, and he often marvels that he has outlived his siblings.
Perhaps the greatest blessing I've seen so far is the renewal of our father/daughter relationship, which is truly a work of the Lord. It's as though we've picked up where we left off years ago when I was a child and he was my number one hero. Much water has passed under the bridge, so to speak, since the above photo was taken in 1959. I've sinned - he's sinned - we've both made a mess of things at times, but the mercy and grace that flows from out of our hearts toward each other is truly a marvelous work of the Lord.
Oh, how my heart rejoices while tears flow from my eyes when reflecting upon the tender mercies of our Lord. I can truly join the Psalmist King David in song who penned these inspired Words of Scripture about the wonderful works of our Lord :
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103, verses 1-5 (KJV)
In conclusion, thank you all for the much needed prayers and loving advice. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as I prepare to become Dad's custodian. We will be meeting with an attorney next month who specializes in elder law to give us advice and me, Dad's only child, the power of attorney over his health and finances. Please pray for the Lord to give me wisdom regarding these matters. Thank you.
Postscript:
While going through Dad's collection of old family photographs, I came across this one of a beautiful little boy... The inscription on back says: Grandma, Jessie Somers. It must be a school picture of Dad - he was adorable! I suspect he was around 5 or 6 years old when it was taken.
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