I sat with my Dad during four hours of chemotherapy today.
This was a "slower" day so it wasn't his rigorous treatment. Still, it was a long day and God was very present to me in those hours.
I was finishing up the "Helper-Completer" section of my bible study (5 Aspects) as I was sitting with my Dad and I was just thinking how even as a single gal I can be cultivating my heart's desire to help and complete those around me. I took this perhaps to an extreme when I offered to do the "check-up" on my Dad... I should only help and complete in areas I am specialized in.
I was thinking about what it is to help and complete, what that looks like. And God decided not to lead me into verses about doing things but led me through verses about abiding. I included those verses....
(this is what chemotherapy looks like... I thought it was going to be "more" than this...)
Thanks for praying for my Dad. I am realizing how blessed I am with my family. And I am realizing how blessed we are to be "together" during this time.
One example of coming "together" which was a total surprise for my Dad was this blog entry from my brother Jonah.
Jonah writes this, "Dad actually hasn’t lost any hair yet, and may not. If this remains the case, I guess the haircut will still serve as an outward reminder for me and others to remember dad in our prayers, and as a comfort to dad - as it will remind him that things could be worse (he could after all be bald...like his son).
My Dad is now laying down in the living room as I write this... laughing at a book his friend gave him to read, "Three Short Novels" by Wendell Berry.
What a blessing to have my brothers, their wives, my mother and my father laughing in the living room.
I never want to take them for granted again.
I am so undeserving.
This was a "slower" day so it wasn't his rigorous treatment. Still, it was a long day and God was very present to me in those hours.
I was finishing up the "Helper-Completer" section of my bible study (5 Aspects) as I was sitting with my Dad and I was just thinking how even as a single gal I can be cultivating my heart's desire to help and complete those around me. I took this perhaps to an extreme when I offered to do the "check-up" on my Dad... I should only help and complete in areas I am specialized in.
I was thinking about what it is to help and complete, what that looks like. And God decided not to lead me into verses about doing things but led me through verses about abiding. I included those verses....(this is what chemotherapy looks like... I thought it was going to be "more" than this...)
Thanks for praying for my Dad. I am realizing how blessed I am with my family. And I am realizing how blessed we are to be "together" during this time.
One example of coming "together" which was a total surprise for my Dad was this blog entry from my brother Jonah.
Jonah writes this, "Dad actually hasn’t lost any hair yet, and may not. If this remains the case, I guess the haircut will still serve as an outward reminder for me and others to remember dad in our prayers, and as a comfort to dad - as it will remind him that things could be worse (he could after all be bald...like his son).My Dad is now laying down in the living room as I write this... laughing at a book his friend gave him to read, "Three Short Novels" by Wendell Berry.
What a blessing to have my brothers, their wives, my mother and my father laughing in the living room.
I never want to take them for granted again.
I am so undeserving.
*My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.* Isaiah 32:18
*O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.* Psalm 131
Editors Note: I have changed some of the links on the side. Enjoy the people I enjoy.
1 comment:
Friend, this was a great post. I'm so in awe of how the Lord has surrounded your family and your dad in these days. I'm glad you can be there for him, with him, and it's awesome to see his heart and his mindset through it all.
I love the Schupbachs. Nobody quite like you all.
Definately good to hear your voice last night - same time zone! Let's do it again this week. :)
PS - Waveland is PRECIOUS!!!!
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