2004 is the year that my mother died. She had COPD, emphysema, from years of smoking, and she was on oxygen 24 hours a day. My father added extra lengths of tubing to the machine that concentrated her oxygen from room air. That gave her freedom to go anywhere in their house with no need to move a big tank around with her. Then she caught a cold. She was hospitalized a few days later and I went down to help. She had developed pneumonia and was very ill. It was decided between all of us that I would stay as long as I could for the first round as it would be easier for Adam to deal with me being gone for a while rather than going home and then going back to take another turn caring for her. I was there for three weeks. There was so much grace for me; I took the overnight shifts at the hospital and my father stayed with her during the day. My aunt would also go during the day to give my father breaks. I would leave the hospital in the morning and go for a drive and then go back to the house to catch a few hours of sleep. I actually slept very little because I just couldn't; but I had plenty of energy and felt fine.
During the third week it became obvious that my mother was not going to survive this illness, and my sisters came down to North Carolina to spend some time with her at the hospital and to keep my father company there and at home. Towards the end of the week, most of our family came down to see her and say their goodbyes. On her last day, we all were gathered around her at her bedside. The hospital was quite obliging as it was a small hospital, was not full, and believed in giving family as much grace as they were able to. We prayed for her , talked to her, went in and out of her room. She was no longer conscious and was hovering in the place between this life and the next.
Jo told me later about the very large angel that was stationed just outside the doorway of Mom's room. She said that she felt him before she saw him.
"He was very tall and muscular. His wings were huge! They were at his side but I could see how large they were; they were the full length of his body. His presence filled the room with strength. I knew he would protect her on her journey; she would be safe with him. The veil was so thin, that's why I could see him. He wasn't a vapor or 'ghost like', for lack of a better term. he was right there with us, clear as day but not solid. I guess he was just the other side of the veil, letting us know he was waiting for Mommy."
She went on to say that it was sort of like looking through a piece of very fine fabric, but it was also clear.
Two and a half years later, our father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer. By the time they find it, you have very little time left. He had moved to Pennsylvania to be near family, and Jo was helping him with everything. I went down to help for what turned out to be his last week. Our sister Pat and her husband were there too. Dad had a hospital bed in the living room, Pat and her husband had the spare bedroom, and Jo and I shared Dad's bedroom. Dad was sedated because of the extreme pain of this cancer and needed total care.Three days before he died, Jo woke up and saw Dad standing in the hallway. She said that he looked wonderful, that his eyes were the brightest blue they had ever been, and he was looking in the bedrooms at us and then smiling. His eyes were full of a joy that she had never seen in him before. Then she told him to go back to bed. He just smiled and turned around and did a little jig and went back to bed. Her telling of this to me enabled me to see him the same way. It still gives me happiness.
Jo will tell you that she didn't understand this place of in between at the time; she was in the place between awake and asleep, where the veil is thin, but didn't know what that was. Dad was in that place too, but his spirit was out of his body. You see, he had not been able to walk anymore since the cancer had made him so weak, and as I said, he was sedated. There was no way his body got out of that bed. After that experience, she knew he would be leaving us soon. And he did.
Three days later, Dad was sleeping and I was reading next to his bed. I heard the LORD speak. He said, "Go outside and take the dog with you." I was completely surprised at this, but got up and got the dog's leash. Dixie and I went outside; the door was open as it was a beautiful fall day and we sat on the porch. We immediately fell asleep. Ten minutes later I suddenly woke up and the oxygen concentrator was not making any noise. I quickly went in the house to check my father, and he was gone. Just like that. When I told the hospice nurse this story, she said that many people prefer to be alone when they die. God knew better than we did and had arranged it so that my brothers and sisters had gone out to pick up food for all of us for dinner and I was the only one home with Dad. Much easier than making everyone go to sleep, don't you think?
God stops by in our every day times, our busy times, our happy times and our sad times. He brings us views of things that are better than we know, just so that we'll know. He speaks to one for the benefit of the other. He even puts us and our dog to sleep to accomplish His purposes. Aren't you glad He does? He just loves us that much.
Blessings for a good night's sleep. May your dreams be filled with Him.
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