Over the last year, my 80 year old, very active father has been slowing down...first there was the double bypass and pacemaker surgery in Charleston this past April; three weeks ago there was a Parkinson's diagnosis; Monday night there were frantic phones calls flying across the country, pleas for prayers posted on prayer boards and facebook.....because Daddy Mac was once again in the hospital.
Seems he began to feel some discomfort Thanksgiving evening - a discomfort that progressed throughout the weekend until Monday night when he began to go into shock and was taken by ambulance from his home to the local hospital ER. There it was determined that he was bleeding internally which was caused by a massive -formerly missed- tumor on his liver. There followed a dangerous 2 hour ambulance drive through a snow storm to a larger hospital.....a ride that required more than 2 pints of blood to stabilize his condition. Then a transfer to a different hospital where a special team could be assembled to deal with all the complications of a heart and Parkinson's patient......
Yesterday, the tumor was removed along with 60% of his liver.....the same man who bled for four hours on the OR table after his bypass surgery...and was placed on life support supposedly for 24-48 hours but was awake and in a chair drinking coffee less then 12 hours later - once again survived a surgery he was given only a 50% of surviving.
As I prayed long distance for my dad, I continued to work on the Christmas decorating of this old farmhouse.....and gradually I was amazed at the peace that I began to feel about the situation.....at first, I pulled out the ribbons and the bows and the garlands and the wreathes with a sense of "I have to do this for Hunter...." all the while dealing with an underlying anger at the physicians who have cared for Dad for the last year missing this massive tumor. But that peace that gradually came over me as I unpacked those decorations......well, all I can tell you is that it was the one that "passes all understanding".
Years ago, I sang a solo in a living Christmas Tree.....it talked about the colors of our Christmas tree and what they represent to those of us who celebrate the holiday for our spiritual belief system rather then the commercial aspect of it.....those words were there for me over the past few days....as I pulled out an red item I heard a line from the song ringing in my head....with gold it was the same, with greens as well.....
Soon I was decorating this old house for more then my 12 year old's sake; I was decorating it for myself....for my Dad...for David's dad who's passed.....and in honor of the memories of my own childhood Christmas's where Mom and Dad had their own heartbreak but still made the holiday a special one for us kids.....and I decorated with a peace that can only come from above.
Throughout my life there have been times of great trouble....like Dallas' premature birth or David's knee injury....where there were moments that I stood face to face with the evidence of God....this was another of those moments......a moment where we find what the Christmas Angels promised the shepherds.....Peace on Earth.....a peace that doesn't make any sense but is there despite all that would seem to make it impossible......
Merry Christmas, everyone.......and Peace on Earth for all.
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