Grandma Moved!

Grandma Heise will be 100 in January. She is my mother's step mother having married Grandpa over 40 years ago. Yesterday she moved from the Retirement area, Southview, into Gardenview, the Long Term area of Parkview Meadows. Now we truly have a family affair. I work full-time as charge nurse on the night shift. Mom has been a resident there for almost 2 years and now Grandma has joined. Life has become quite hard for Grandma. Her eyesight has dimmed significantly, her hearing is extremely dull, and there is now increased difficulty with her thinking. However, she is in a good place, with many wonderful caregivers around her. I am blessed to be able to be there as well to help her in this final part of her journey.

Remembering....

Today I am remembering my beloved sister, Phyllis who left us and went to heaven 5 years ago. I still miss her so much. There are many others who also miss her and have had to learn how to live without her. She filled so many roles for so many people. She was wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, joker, listener, counsellor, confidante, always ready to talk, shop, quilt, sew, discuss ideas, give advice, laugh, cook, bake, read, joke around, pray, make a new friend.

I think of some of the changes over the past 5 years. One new thing is Facebook. She would have loved reconnecting and deepening connections with many old and new friends. Other changes are the new extended family members who have either been born or entered the family through marriage. She would have been able to watch the young mature and the elderly get older.

Yes, it is true that time has passed and there have been many changes since Phyl left. But I believe we all can agree that knowing and being in relationship with her has made a great impact upon us. We will never forget her.

Busy Week

We have had a busy week. Tom was in hospital from Oct 30-Nov 8. Dunnville Hospital is an amazing little hospital and Tom received the best of care by Dr. Reddy and the nurses there. He's home now with Lifeline in place and with Alicia staying with him at night. After everything she's been through, she's quite nervous about her Dad's health. Although he was considered well enough to come home, he is still very weak and has a troublesome cough. Alicia, of course is still mourning the death of her stillborn daughter 3 weeks ago. She has also lost her uncle Bob Solon, Tom's sister Wanda's husband,who died suddenly on Tuesday with a massive stroke. It certainly has been a rough week for many in our family.
This very familiar reading expresses my experience through these days.

One night a man had a dream.
He dreamed he was walking along
the beach with the Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene, he noticed
two sets of footprints in the sand,
one beloning to him and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the
very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life there is
only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when I needed you most
you would leave me."

The Lord replied "My precious, precious child,
I love you and would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffereing,
when you see only one set of footprints in the sand,
it was then that I carried you."

FRIENDS

These past couple weeks have been very difficult for our family. Less than two weeks ago, my stillborn granddaughter, Orie, was born. Before that time and since, Tom, my husband, has been feeling increasingly unwell. After 3 visits to the local ER, today he was admitted to the hospital diagnosed with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. It indeed has been a stressful time.

Dealing with these things is not easy. However, as I reflect, I realize how much support and strength has come from my friends. I am so blessed to have wonderful friends around me, with whom I can share my difficulties and burdens.

Thank you, Lord, for friends.

Believing that God Makes No Mistakes

October 21, 2007

Today is the day that we celebrate the birth and mourn the death of precious little Orie Phyllis Alice Harper, born October 17, 2007 at 1036 p.m. Orie, it was a privilege to briefly get to know you and to spend some wonderful moments with you - admiring the workmanship of God, as we gazed at your perfectly shaped little face, arms, hands, legs and feet. Although we never heard you scream "Hello" to the world, or felt you wiggling in our arms, you are very special to us. God makes no mistakes. Your life has made an impact on each of us. We are reminded that there are many things that we do not understand and that cause us pain. We will miss watching you grow, getting to know you, being with you on our family vacation at Camp Kahquah, joining around our large family table.

I can almost hear you speaking the words of Psalm 139 in a prayer to our Heavenly Father.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - oh how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

Orie, you have gone on before us. We anticipate seeing you again one day.

On being thankful

Something I've been pondering for awhile is related to the matter of being thankful. The Scriptures are full of reminders about always being thankful. A couple verses in the New Testament have slightly different slants. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. "
Ephesians 5:20 says it a little differently, " always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

These verses are different in that the first mentions being thankful in every circumstance, and the second talks about giving thanks for everything...there is a difference! I'd like to take things to the greatest degree and learn how to give thanks for everything.

I recently came across an old pamphlet that I received many years ago, while looking through the Bible I got from Tom before we were married. It talks about accepting every situation we encounter with praise and thanksgiving, knowing that God is using everything that happens to "refine our gold and consume our dross". This is making sense to me, and now I'm trying to put into practice, thanking God for everything. Sometimes it's not easy, but it does bring about a sense of peace, believing that everything that crosses my path has a purpose and has first been filtered though God's loving fingers. Therefore it is something that I can thank God for, because He, indeed, is always present within me, teaching me, guiding me, refining me, and working on consuming my dross.

"Please bless John and Linda"

I worked a 12-hr shift which began at 7pm tonight. That meant I wasn't able to
have my regular devotional time. I am taking my break at work right now and doing my Bible reading online. The readings are from Isaiah 40 and 41 in the Old Testament and Ephesians 1 in the New Testament. There are many rich verses found in these portions. I'm thinking of John and Linda right now in this difficult time they're in. "Lord, please assure them of Your love, Your Presence, Your power at work within them giving them the strength they need to carry on."

I've included some wonderful verses from my reading.

Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. How can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.