Post by Jeffrey Olver on Jun 10, 2008 15:27:59 GMT -5
Some sad news...
LauRen's grandfather just passed away a few days ago.
We knew he wasn't doing too well from LauRen's parents... But when we got the call that it was time to say our goodbyes, we drove 5 hours to Louisianna to see him one last time.
He had recently been diagnosed with liver and lung cancer and was not given much long to live. He was in his late 70s.
When we were down there, we were blessed to be able to let him see Evelyn, our daughter, one last time. While in town the doctors said it would be best to make him more comfortable in a hospice like surrounding, because depending on his willpower he could pass away in a day to a month.
We were there for two days, and two days after arriving back home we recieved the news that he passed away. I'm not sure if Bill was at peace with God, born again, or not. LauRen's father, (his son), is a godly man and I'm sure he took the opportunity to discuss those things with him.
We will be headed down for the Funeral later this week.
I wanted to share some thoughts I had while there...
It was a surreal experience for me to be holding Evelyn in the same room as Bill. Here, in my arms, was a practically brand-new life. And directly in front of me was a life that was ending. His life was now being measured in hours and minutes, not years.
I can't remember what it was like to be on Evelyn's side of life... and it's hard for me to comprehend what it would be like to be on the far end either. What must have been going through Bill's mind? He was coherent. Though weak, he recognized everyone and fully understood that he was going to die at any moment.
What does a person think? How do they feel? A few breaths away from eternity!
James says that our life "is as a vapour." That's how fast it passes. Like mist in the morning. Like steam from a boiling pot.
Was Bill thinking "I never thought this day would come"? "Where has almost 80 years gone?" He was too weak to get out of bed and do all the things he wish he would have done. At many times he was too weak to say the things he wished he said.
I'm only 23 and still I feel sometimes like that... Yesterday I was in highschool... the day before I was playing "batman" wearing a cape running around the yard. Two seconds ago, my daughter was born... she's almost a year old!
Then I think of men like John Wesley, who lived to be in his 80s... founded the Methodist Church, wrote well over two hundred books on topics ranging from foreign languages, dictionaries, physics, and of course religion. Travelled hundreds of thousands of miles on horseback to spread the Gospel. Hundreds of thousands of dollars (in our day, millions) passed through his hands to build orphanages and support missionaries and publish those blessed hymnals. (He died worth only about $30).
Then you have a man like David Brainerd, Jonathan Edward's son-in-law, who preached to the Native Americans. Died at the age of 28 from TB. But his life was equally as full.
You think about guys like William Booth, Whitefield, Finney, Wesley, J.G. Lake, Jim Elliot, C.T. Studd, Taylor Hudson, Catherine Booth, to name a mere handful.... ... Their lives were so FULL!!!!
How do we do that? How do we live a full life?
Rhetorical or not... it's a great question to ask yourself.
Thus ends my little rant. Thanks all.
LauRen's grandfather just passed away a few days ago.
We knew he wasn't doing too well from LauRen's parents... But when we got the call that it was time to say our goodbyes, we drove 5 hours to Louisianna to see him one last time.
He had recently been diagnosed with liver and lung cancer and was not given much long to live. He was in his late 70s.
When we were down there, we were blessed to be able to let him see Evelyn, our daughter, one last time. While in town the doctors said it would be best to make him more comfortable in a hospice like surrounding, because depending on his willpower he could pass away in a day to a month.
We were there for two days, and two days after arriving back home we recieved the news that he passed away. I'm not sure if Bill was at peace with God, born again, or not. LauRen's father, (his son), is a godly man and I'm sure he took the opportunity to discuss those things with him.
We will be headed down for the Funeral later this week.
I wanted to share some thoughts I had while there...
It was a surreal experience for me to be holding Evelyn in the same room as Bill. Here, in my arms, was a practically brand-new life. And directly in front of me was a life that was ending. His life was now being measured in hours and minutes, not years.
I can't remember what it was like to be on Evelyn's side of life... and it's hard for me to comprehend what it would be like to be on the far end either. What must have been going through Bill's mind? He was coherent. Though weak, he recognized everyone and fully understood that he was going to die at any moment.
What does a person think? How do they feel? A few breaths away from eternity!
James says that our life "is as a vapour." That's how fast it passes. Like mist in the morning. Like steam from a boiling pot.
Was Bill thinking "I never thought this day would come"? "Where has almost 80 years gone?" He was too weak to get out of bed and do all the things he wish he would have done. At many times he was too weak to say the things he wished he said.
I'm only 23 and still I feel sometimes like that... Yesterday I was in highschool... the day before I was playing "batman" wearing a cape running around the yard. Two seconds ago, my daughter was born... she's almost a year old!
Then I think of men like John Wesley, who lived to be in his 80s... founded the Methodist Church, wrote well over two hundred books on topics ranging from foreign languages, dictionaries, physics, and of course religion. Travelled hundreds of thousands of miles on horseback to spread the Gospel. Hundreds of thousands of dollars (in our day, millions) passed through his hands to build orphanages and support missionaries and publish those blessed hymnals. (He died worth only about $30).
Then you have a man like David Brainerd, Jonathan Edward's son-in-law, who preached to the Native Americans. Died at the age of 28 from TB. But his life was equally as full.
You think about guys like William Booth, Whitefield, Finney, Wesley, J.G. Lake, Jim Elliot, C.T. Studd, Taylor Hudson, Catherine Booth, to name a mere handful.... ... Their lives were so FULL!!!!
How do we do that? How do we live a full life?
Rhetorical or not... it's a great question to ask yourself.
Thus ends my little rant. Thanks all.