"The Rock of our Redeemer"

After Dad gave us all the talk on Tuesday and told us his wishes to not try and save his life and help get him out of pain, Hospice was called. We waited to hear when a bed would open up so they could move him out of the hospital.  When Ethan called me last night and told me they were getting him ready for transport, I was shocked it had happened so fast. We had planned a family meeting for last night to discuss what to do with Dad, so I stayed home and got caught up on some of my work. We got a call during the meeting telling us they had Dad and were getting him comfortable. I couldn't sleep, praying that the Lord would have mercy on him and our family and make this transition quick and not drag out for days or weeks. At 2:30 a.m. we got a call from Len telling us they had called and said Dad had taken a "turn for the worse." By the time we all got there at 3:00 Dad was wanting Rich and I to sit him up and get his feet on the floor. I asked him where he thought he was going and he didn't know. After we all got there they gave him another dose of Morphine and he started to settle down and relax a little bit. We all sat and watched him start to breath shallower and shallower until he finally took his last breath of air at 5:00 a.m.. After twelve years of battling prostate cancer his fight was over. He left this earth with all his children, his wife, and a dear cousin supporting him to the end. I have been down this road of grief before and I know I'm in the first stage which is denial. My mind is trying to come to grips that my Dad will never walk again on this earth and I won't see him again until I pass through the veil, where I know he will be there to greet me. I know he's with his parents, grandparents and others he so dearly loved and for sure has given Kamber a big hug for us. As we were watching Dad struggle to breath, Len kept coming up with scriptures that seemed to resonated with what we were experiencing. The one that is most special to me is the one Dad recited last night as they were leaving and Len ask him what his favorite scripture was. He said, Helaman 5:12 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that you must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." I'm so thankful for my testimony of the Savior, I know he lives and answers prayers, I've seen it in my life this last week and hope to build my life upon the rock of our Redeemer, just like Dad did.