My Father's Journey: Continued Grace

I just wanted to take a moment and give everyone a little update on my Dad.  It’s been a while since my last message regarding his recovery.  I guess it’s been too long for some, because I’ve been scolded by a few of you asking about his health!  To say that he’s doing great would be an understatement; he’s doing much better than great!  It’s been an amazing to watch!

Dad left home on October 14, 2016, while undergoing a catastrophic heart failure event, and he was released from the rehab facility 70 days later on December 22, 2016…just in time for Christmas!  And, the miracles continued. He was released by his cardiac surgeon following just one visit.  He was then released by his cardiologist following a single visit, with a follow-up exam scheduled in one year.  Both exams revealed a heart that was no longer in distress and a man who, despite all that he had been through, was healthy.  It defies imagination, and it’s been incredible to watch God orchestrate every detail of this often difficult journey.  From start to finish, it’s been an amazing story…one that I certainly have no desire to repeat, but amazing all the same.

Today, it’s February 10, 2018, and Dad is continuing to get stronger everyday.  His cardiac walker sits idle today, because he no longer needs it.  He is still occasionally using a cane, but my understanding is that it’s not a necessity.  Let’s be clear; he isn’t chopping wood or running marathons, but his recovery is well into the final stages, and he is quickly approaching a life of health and vitality that couldn’t even be envisioned on the evening of October 14, 2016.  It’s a new day for my father…a new day for our entire family, and it’s all a reflection of God’s amazing grace.  It's a grace that none of us deserve, but it's given so freely that I fear we often cheapen it's worth.  But, He gives more grace.

I thank God for my parents.  We have a special relationship, and I’m blessed beyond imagination to be their son.  As I sit back and think about everything that has happened, I can see God’s hand in every nuanced detail, and I am thankful that God pays attention to those little details.  He’s been much more than good in every respect.  I continue to stand amazed.

Honestly, I really don’t have anything else to share with you at the moment, except that Dad is strong, active, and very much enjoying his life back at home.  It’s a pleasure to visit with them and see both of my parents doing so well, and they are, in fact, doing very well!  I will be using a little vacation time next week, starting on Monday, and I will be joining them until at least Saturday evening…possibly a few days longer, and I can’t wait.  Dad already has some projects lined up for us to do around their home, but I won’t be doing them…we’ll be doing them together!  Nothing could make me any happier!

Please continue to keep Dad and Mom in your prayers, but rest assured that he is doing awesome in every respect.  I am thankful to say that he is probably healthier today than he’s been in over a decade.  He’s a walking miracle whose restored health reflects the glory of an awesome, awesome God.  It's something that only God could have done.

Isaiah 61:3 says, “...and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”

Only God is capable of turning our ashes into something of beauty, our sadness and despair into joy, and use it all as a display of the splendor only found in Him.  So, with every breath, in sickness or in health, in poverty or in riches, in sadness or in joy…give praise to the God who controls it all.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” – Psalm 150:6 (NIV)