God blessed me with the great honor of serving my Dad and being at his side when his spirit was ushered into the presence of the Lord.Over the past few weeks, it seemed that it was Dad’s spirit in a different body. His “tent” had noticeably deteriorated from the one with which we were familiar for so many years. But that the inhabitant was one and the same was indicated clearly by his deathbed prayers of gratitude, his request of affirmation that his wife would continue to be cared for, his reflections regarding church and Bible study, and his sense of humor.
He preached his last sermon on Resurrection Sunday. He sang with a quartet a week later. The following Sunday, he was in church in the morning, and in the evening, he took his last motorcycle ride to Dairy Queen. Then throughout the past week, he clearly took another step toward the threshold of passing.
Thursday night, Dad prayed that if there was no need for his situation to drag on, then “let’s get this show on the road.” At another moment that same night, Dad asked, “How many people are in the room?” After being told that there were three, my brother then asked him, “How many do you think are in the room?” Dad said, “Five.” – Was this just another moment of disorientation? Or was Dad privileged to see his escorts into the Lord’s presence?
Dad maintained coherence to the day he died. Friday morning, May 1st, 2009, he wanted to go outside. So we helped him to the porch, where he sat for a few hours, still sharing expressions of love and humor with whoever would stop and sit with him. Then he needed to rest; so he fell asleep back in his recliner around 1:30 pm. Eight hours later, he was still sleeping, breathing longer, slower, and raspier. My Mom and I began gently working with him to see if he would stir awake. Just minutes later, he breathed his last.
