Sunrises, Sunsets

At the time of this entry Nell still holds on to life, barely. Her breathing is extremely shallow. The last few times she communicated anything it was pain and a crying out for her mother. We wait.

The following was written by Evelyn, Nell's wonderful daughter, my marvelous wife on December 28, 2008. Evelyn has been the main caregiver now for these 28 days that Nell has been in our home.

Tonight I watched the sun set. The hues of orange, pink, purple & red were brilliantly splattered across the sky in a breathtaking display.

How interesting that sunrises & sunsets share such brilliant colors, announcing their arrival.

Such is life & death. One is ushered in, another out, yet both are brilliantly controlled by the hand of the master artist - God.

Sometime I fear the dark, but without the dark do we really appreciate the light? In heaven I know we will, but in our feeble earthly frames we must have the struggles to see the blessing of His hand walking us through.

When will the sun set on my mother's earthly life? Only God knows, but with the dark, will come light again... and for that I wait.

Stumbling Blocks and Blessings

Stumbling Blocks

At Nell's request hospice tried increasing her medications so she would sleep most of the time. It worked for about 12 hours. Now she is awake more than she is asleep and her pain is increasing. She is agitated much of the time and she is hallucinating.

Tonight we dropped one of the medications, increased another and cried more. The crying just happens. The further changes in Medications is in the hopes of reaching the goal of Nell being peaceful.

Blessings

Some of our people have made sure we have food and have had to do very little cooking. Thank you. The food had been delicious... I'm not sure if it's the flavor or the love we are tasting. "Taste and see that the Lord is Good." (Ps 34:8a)

As I shared Nell's condition with the church tonight I saw tears in several eyes. "Weep with those who weep." (Rom 12:15b) Those tears are like hugs even though we are across the room from each other. They show you are listening and hearing our wounded hearts.

Lord willing, a lady will be following the Lord in baptism on this Sunday. Praise God!

Struggling Together

Mom's therapy started officially today.  The therapist had Mom take her on a tour of the house. Then took her outside and had her get in and out of the vehicle a couple of times.  She was thoroughly worn out by the time the therapist left.  

She is experiencing some itching, we believe it is a reaction to the codeine in her pain reliever, so tonight we are going to try pain reliever without the codeine and see how she does.  

I received the following from a dear friend, Wendy Nelson.  It spoke to me and with her permission I share it with in hopes that God will use it to bless and encourage you.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:1-5) 

I want to share that I am so glad that God gave us friends who will struggle with us in prayer.  Since you brought up the “armor of God”, I’d like to share an insight that is a bit Biblical and historical, but which a number of people don’t know. 

In the New Testament, Brother Paul certainly understood the power of our words to God in prayer.  He wrote: "I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me" (Romans 15:30).  "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should" (Ephesians 6: 18-20). 

The New Testament was originally written in Greek and sometimes looking at the original definitions of the words gives us great insight.  The Greek word Paul uses for struggle in Romans 15:30 issunagonizomai, which means "to struggle in company of; i.e., to be a partner (assistant), strive together with."   The root word means "to endeavor to accomplish something: fight, labor fervently, strive," for example, to compete for a prize or to contend with an adversary.

Much of the soldiers’ ancient armor had brackets attached to the sides.  These brackets were a type of latch that soldiers could use to lock armors during battle.  When the armors were locked together, the soldiers moved as one force, forming a barricade against the enemy.  Alone, the shield was a small defense. Together they formed a human wall.  Do you see the significance?  When we lock arms in prayer with others, we are locking our shields together and forming a powerfully strong fortress of defense!   

Prayer for another person is not simply a pat on the back.  When we tell someone that we will pray for them, we are agreeing to put on the armor and head to the front lines of battle on their behalf.  To all the Steffes family, thank you for asking me to be part of your prayer army. I can only be with you in spirit, but I promise to be faithful and pray for you, your family, and your medical team. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us friends in God to pray for us and with us. 

Thank you that you call Your people to join as mighty prayer warriors with shields linked together, marching into battle as one unified force.  Thank you for Your promise in Psalm 32:8   “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”  Thank you for answering our prayers and arranging for that particular surgical nurse to encourage our sister, Nell.  What a powerful testimony that woman shares with the world.  Continue to bless Nell and her family as they openly glorify You and illuminate how You have supported them physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Help us to walk in obedience to Your Word.  Help us to trust Your plan and Your goodness.

 

 In Jesus’ Name, Amen

SIC,

Wendy