On May 26th, 2008 betterknown as Memorial Day (what a coincidence) my Dad of 59 yrs of age passed away. I have had 2 friends of mine who have lost one of thier parents both to a type of cancer. My dad has ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. His diagnosis was a rare form in which progressed very quickly and only took 2 yrs to claim his life. To give a funnel synopsis of what this disease does to the human body, it takes your motor nuerons (nerve endings that contol the muscles in your body) and breaks them down until you can't move an arm or a finger, wiggle a toe or lift your leg, utter an I Love You or rub my nose. You see, thre are things that you may not realize that your parents do that are so small that you hear or see them do all the time that currently have no significance what so ever but become so precious to you when they are gone from you life. Watching my Dad go through that disease on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis was the most unbelievable, powerful, scariest thing I have ever experienced. Have you ever looked down at your finger and just wiggled it? Can you imagine what it would be like if you looked down at your finger and your brain is sending the signal to move your finger and it did nothing? Imagine that being your voice, legs and arms. Your mind stays sane and you can think just as clearly as you once did before. Watching my Dad go through this made me realize that life is not guaranteed, and that at any day, moment in time that your life can be taken from you in a blink of an eye....literally. It's that realization that made my focus on Christ in my heart so much stronger. I thought my Christian walk was a good one because I thought about God often and had a good prayer life and had a good head on my shoulders in situations and being intuitive. But the fact of the matter is, it took something like that to make me fully realize that if you don't have your heart completely devoted to Christ and he isn't the center of your life then your life is like having that disease and areas in your life are like loosing your voice or your arms or legs. Think about it, you can't just go to church on Sunday and then expect to teach a Sunday School class whenever you feel like it if you don't study the Bible and understand the teachings of the Bible. My Dad's mind was as clear as yours and mine are but could not even move a finger, speak a word, or wiggle a toe yet we have the Bible at our hands and fail to read, understand, and imply the teachings into our lives. That we can do and have the ability to do. I bet my Dad wishes he could have told me he Loved me but you know what, he had to blink his eye and try to smile (which when you smile you have 12 muscles) when I would tell him I Loved him. He might have only been in my life for 28 years and 70 days but he taught me things in my life that made me who I am as his Son. If you've ever wondered whether God has a plan I will simply say this, He does. Was I ever agry or upset that Dad was going through that disease?? I can't say that I ever was but just prayed constantly that if God had a plan that it would be revealed through Dad's life and through this disease. I had faith the entire time and just put everything in God's hands. Most people would look at that as not caring or just giving up but being a follower of Christ, having faith is a part of me. God did have a plan and whether it was curing my dad of ALS or his passing and it might not have been in his life but in other people's lives. For you see, God uses all actions and situations for His Glory and on the day that he passed away, 4:20 a.m., I remember going over there and he laid there and I hugged him so tightly and was still in shock but could still feel his nerves moving in his shoulders. It reminds me of how scripture tells us not to live in the flesh but in the spirit. I met my future Wife Emily 4 days before my dad passed away and the joy and reassurance from the Lord has never been so evident in my life. Emily gives me such a reminder of Christ and being a Christian every single day and I have longed for that and prayed for that and been patient. Dad wanted to meet Emily on Saturday, 2 days before he died, but I told him that she would probably be scared that I was introducing her to the parents so soon. I would have never guessed that I would be this blessed to have Emily in my life. I just want to be a Husband that Loves her like the scriptures say and be Christ-like everyday. Please, take note of the times you spend with your parents because not having them in your life to do the simple things is an emotional turbulance that I can't describe. I now have a father-in-law that I have grown to Love and truly appreciate and look for him to fill that fatherly roll that he has so greatly started already. Tell your parents you Love them and give them a Hug. Do simple things with them. Time is precious, but I know at this very moment I am a little jealous that Dad is in Heaven with the angels and singing. How awesome that must be.
