God teaches us to put our trust in Him and in His ways:
Isaiah 40:28ff.
"Have you not known? Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
Today, dad has been mostly sleeping or sedated. His breathing is getting a bit more laboured. He occassionally has bladder spasms that cause him a lot of discomfort. He is able to respond to some touches and sounds once in a while. For this we are grateful. When we read the scriptures, sometimes he moves his hand to hold hands with those around him. If one tries to let go, he might squeeze it, suggesting that you not let go. It is difficult to see him this way, but we are grateful to the LORD that dad is quite comfortable on the whole.
It is such a great comfor to know that all these things are in the LORD's hands - His ways are higher than our ways and they achieve His purposes. We pray that dad's suffering would soon come to an end, and we continue to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of God's love as expressed by the communion of saints. We all continue to:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Chris
We continue to remember you and your family in our prayers. May you all receive continued strength anew each day.
ReplyDeleteJohn and Johanna Homan
Living this along with you, and praying you will continue to be comforted by Him who is our only comfort in life and death! Sterkte! Bob and Janine Janssens
ReplyDeleteMay our gracious God continue to sustain and strengthen all of you and may you be comforted with Romans 8:18 which promises that the suffering of this present time is not worth comparing with the the glory that awaits us.
ReplyDeleteLove, John and Margaret Byl
Romans 8:35,37-39
ReplyDeleteYou are in our thoughts and prayers all thru the day.May God give you His comfort in this time. Kees and Mieke R
We continue to remember you all in prayer. Even when you think your dad is not responding, his hearing is the last thing that will go. Continue to speak to him, read scriptures in his hearing and sing. He will hear you and this will bring him comfort in his last hours. We were told this by the nurses when my mother was in her last hours and we saw proof of this in her bodily response.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you all.
Jim and Dorothy K.
Hoe donker ook Gods weg moog wezen,
ReplyDeleteHij ziet in gunst op die Hem vrezen.
Wij denken aan jullie.
Francine & Kornelis Kolstein
At a Credo Christian High School assembly yesterday, led by Kent Dykstra (Piet's son-in-law) and accompanied by the CCHS band, we sang Psalm 17:6 (new rhyming):
ReplyDelete"But I, when I awake, shall see
your face in righteousness and glory.
Lord, with your likeness then before me,
how rich and full my joy shall be."
I thought of Piet, and what awaits him!
We are praying for you all. Henk and Ginny VdHorst
Continuing to pray for strength and peace for your family, and for an end to Mr. Deboer's earthly suffering.
ReplyDeleteRaoul Kingma
We often think of your family and pray that the Lord will strengthen all of you in the days and weeks ahead.
ReplyDeleteJack and Jenny Vanderveen