For a Deeply Loved Father with Cancer

[Ped]

You and yours are very much in my thoughts as always!!

Be blessed,

Pedx

[hottsmokin]

April BlessingsHello Everyone, I hope this finds each of you incredibly blessed. I wanted to take a bit of time before I headed back up to West Virginia to share with you how Dad is doing. He is one incredibly tough man giving this life all he has.  He has stopped treatments for the pancreatic cancer. He simply got to the point where he just wanted to stay home, spend the rest of his time surrounded by his friends and family.... And so it goes. 

While dad is in a great deal of pain, he is still hanging in there and living his best life.  Hospice has been wonderful the pain is under control and he is finally getting some rest. He is surrounded by his family, his church family,   and the many friends that stop in to visit with him. Dad has always been one of those people that would help everyone in the community, and never accepted a dime nor expected anything in return. To see him surrounded by people is very touching.  Just last week, he became a great grandpa for the first time and even from home, he is managing to continue his work for the Lord. He is amazing and selfless.  Despite what he is going thru his spirit never waivers.   

The past few weeks have been just incredible and I realize that each day, is a gift.   What a truly helpless feeling, watching someone you love "melt away".  Still, I love just being there beside him...sharing the same air. I have found, its not what I say or do, but just being there means everything.  I've never been one to take for granted ..and I am so thankful for every single memory.  One of the coolest things has been watching my dad with my own children... the way he just hugs them  up; always smiling and laughing, making each one of them feel as if they are the single most important person to him in the whole world. 

Over the last year...hanging on to dad has been a priority, searching for the one miracle, all in a desperate hope of hanging on and never giving up.  I am not sure when it all started to change, that I slowly began to realize that this just might be the time he would be leaving us to go join his Heavenly Father.  Its not about giving up, but letting go.   We are being given the most precious gift...time to soak up every  word, time to say what we need to say, hug as tightly as we want.   Moments never to be forgotten.  Seeing him in such pain, I knew I loved him too much to pray for him to stay...so I guess that is when I started letting go.  My prayer changed to wanting only for him good days and being blessed by a departure on wings of peace, forever leaving his spirit within our soul and his footprints in our hearts.

I'll go up this week and hang out a few days...and as often thereafter as we have, just as all of my siblings have been doing.  I'll share with him the thoughts, prayers and acts of kindness that each of you have sent.  I feel incredibly blessed, and so frequently I find myself only wishing for the world that each person would have been so lucky as to have had a dad like mine. Maybe in a way, this has been the way of sharing him with each of you. I hope you have been touched by the bittersweetnes s of just one man, to whom I believe has defined unconditional love, a man so selfless whom has undeniably captured the hearts of so many while he lived out his purpose driven life.  Surely you can look inside and know he too has left his footprints with each of you.  God Bless. I'll be in touch.  Carry on with your beautiful lives.

[hottsmokin]

The lovely month of May, looking for a beautiful sunset...
Its so hard to come here, after all this time, I sit here in fear as I prepare to once again make what I feel with be my final journey home to be with my beloved father. I  am full of gratitude for what you have offered my family here. For me, a place of many 'rooms', depending on which one I needed when I came.  Today,  I just feel as if I am kneeling at foot of the cross, broken and begging, Lord have mercy on my dad.  Dad has continued to decline and has been brutally ill for over a week now.  All I am asking for at this point is that he be blessed with 'comfort' so that he might enjoy his last few days he has on this earth.  Our entire family will surround dad this week and stay with him until the end.  I wish only for him  to miraculously perk up enough to smile that beatiful smile and breathe in the genuine love, gratitude and admiration we each have for him.   

As of late, I have received some of the most touching emails & wanted to share some of them. It seems there is such a vast range of emotions associated with a loss, and my suffering is really no different than that of any other human. The pain my family feels is no greater than that of another. I know this as a truth, yet  it still hurts just the same. 

******

A very dear friend of mine that I love very much,  sent me this article  and it just helped so much when trying to find the words to comfort my own young son, who also lost his grandma just after christmas this year.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734819,00.html

here is an excerpt from that article although the entire article was particularly meaningful.

"Is that Grandpa?" our 4-year-old wondered. "No, honey," my husband told her. "He's not here anymore. That's just his body." She worked at this, how the arms that held her and the lap she sat in were no longer him. "You know how when we go to Florida, we leave our winter coats at home because we won't need them there? Well, he just left this behind because he doesn't need it anymore." And this appeared to make perfect sense to her, and she went to play..

******

I received this yesterday, and had to let it sink in as to what its message was to me..but I finally got it: 

Sherry,
I was doing my lesson this morning and read these passages and the Lord prompted me to send them to you. I will continue to pray for you and your father. What a beautiful word you have written here about your father and even more beautiful is the reflection of God’s Glory. Be strong.
Jim

 2 Cor. 4:10-18

Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so tha tthe life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you.

We continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believe in God, and so I speak." ....

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For the present troubles are quite small and wont last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurable great glory that will last forever. ...So we dont look at the troubles we can not see right now, rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. 

******

This prayer was sent to me, by a Pastor from my church 2 days ago. 1 day ago, suddenly while praying in a home group, he died with the last word out of his mouth, "Jesus".   He prayed for my dad the night he died.
"Father God you are the designer/creator of our bodies.  Even more, you are our redeemer/healer in Christ Jesus.  I pray the healing anointing now in Jesus name to fall on Sherry's father.  Lord we lift up this entire family to you.  I pray Your peace fill Sherry and every other family member.  Lord we trust You with these circumstances and needs.  In Jesus mighty name I pray and give ALL praise." 

Pastor Paul
 
Please pray for his wife and children. I feel it is my obligation to pray for them, as they have prayed for my father.


and finally, just last night:

******

Sherry,
It was a pleasure to meet you tonight.  I truly believe the Lord brought us together this evening for a purpose.  It may have been for you to find Monavie, meet another Christian that will lift your father and your entire family up in prayer or maybe something even grander than you and I could ever fathom.  Only time will tell, but I know that where two or more are present so is He.  My wife and I will be on our knees tonight for you and your family.  All things are possible through Christ. 

God Bless,
Tyler and Leslie


I will close now, and just add, that I do believe that my coming to meet each of you in the way that I have, personally, was part of something much greater than I understand. Its been rich and rewarding to see my dad being reached out to and touched by each of you. We have witnessed some amazing miracles along the way, and realize that each day we have been given has been "The Gift". 

The reason I titled this 'looking for a beautiful sunset'... Dads final resting place will be upon a beautiful hill,  a small little cemetary that just behind the church he has preached at for years. It is peaceful. Dad says its beautiful up there when the sun sets, and he should know...he's been the caretaker since 1971, when he buried his baby daughter there. We are hoping for a lovely sunset  and the bagpipes will play Amazing Grace & How Great Thou Art  as we lay this gentle man to rest and celebrate the life of an incredible human being, My dad.

Pray fervently and without ceasing.

Many Blessings and Long Happy Roads Ahead to Each of You...
Sherry

[Jen Solano]

Oh sweetness I will continue to pray! I'm blessed to know your father will be without pain, regret, sorrow, and hopelessness. I pray he feels content with his life and that he's looking forward to being whole, completely renewed! May the Lord continue to bless you with wonderful brothers and sisters and I pray HIS angels comfort and minister to you and your family always but especially through this difficult time.

Peace, love and blessings to you my friend.

In HIS love,
Jen

[hottsmokin]

I am in west virginia...dad made the decision to go to the hospital last night because  Hospice could not get his vomiting under control. I just got the call from  my family @ the hospital, that they said dad would die from heart failure in 2-3 days...either at home or there. dad chose to stay, i assume  so it would be easier on mom. please pray for his sleep to come. god bless. i cannot add any more at this time.

broken,

[BoardMod]

Paul Thompson died in his sleep at the hospital @ 12:40 PM EST while the family was singing "Amazing Grace"




Paul Thompson Candle Vigil:

http://www.heartflames.com/memorial/~KKUDNQN5/

[hottsmokin]

Hello dear friends...Its been two weeks since dad passed out of this world into the one which he had so much hope and faith in. I miss him greatly, and there is a definite void in my life right now that personally I am having a very difficult time filling and finding peace with.  Mom is doing amazingly well, and for that I am incredibly thankful.  I wonder where she gets this strength, strength I have never been aware she had. 

I come here today, however, to once again, say thank you for every hand and footstep walked with us and just to let you know that I am here, thinking of each of you, and hoping that your worlds are blessed, your families have health, you have a  smile and  peace surrounding you and that its just been a wonderful day for you so far. I will check back in a a few days, on a more individual level, but for now..I didnt want to let the sun set before extending my heartfelt and most sincere thank you for the gift you gave, which was yourself.

Have a wonderful evening,
Love, Sherry