Hold Him While He Sleeps

The prayer of my heart during the night last night, was that God would hold dad while he sleeps. The thought... the prayer... just kept replaying in my mind. It had been a difficult day for him yesterday. He said it was hard to breathe and he had a pain in his chest.

Mom said while she laid with him during the night, his breathing sounded different and sometimes he moaned. Not sure if it was dreams or pain, she just laid beside him and cried. She called us first thing this morning and we've all (Mom, John, Helena, Kristiina, Nic, Joe, and me) been together, all day.

Thankfully, he's resting very comfortably today. He hasn't been awake, though, for more than a total of 10 minutes, but he says he's not in pain today. "I'm fine," he says. And my prayer is still that God would hold him while he sleeps... he sleeps all the time, and so shall he be in His arms all the time.

Dad hasn't had anything to eat or drink today, but we celebrated when he managed to finish a half of a popsicle at about 3:00 pm.

His hospice nurse, Lori, came and checked him and then sat with us for 30-45 minutes answering our questions and describing how we can keep him comfortable. We all agree that he'll stay at home until the end (and dad participated in that decision). Judging by his symptoms, Lori thinks that he may drop his cloak of flesh and enter his heavenly home before the weekend is through (not a precise quote...but my interpretation).

I realize I'm blurting the facts rather numbly, but I am a bit numb. That, and God's grace is sustaining me... all of us. I have never known more personally the scripture that tells me God's grace is sufficient. It really is.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,

so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Cor. 12:9