Where Faith Abounds

EXPECTED HAPPENING AT UNEXPECTED TIME. As time went on Dad’s sickness went on remission. He began eating and looking better and even began the process of completing a degree in law which was his passion. He loved to read and loved education. Mother who was always very helpful with Dad’s activities of daily living despite her own ailments improved in her health too. I was very excited about their improvement. Dad and Mom also resumed their religious activities. They read their bibles daily, and devoted their lives to prayer morning, afternoon, and night. Church attendance and involvement were two of their and our most important family values. While he was in Africa Dad was very devoted to and began the first St. Anthony’s Society in his then Catholic Church in the town. He and Mom were very wonderful people that loved and trusted God. What they lacked, however, was a personal relationship with Jesus. So we began to study the bible and not just read it. Eventually, after many years spent practicing church traditions and doctrines they truly began to understand the scriptures. They read John 3 over and over with emphasis on the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus…. (Please see full dialogue in the book). Another portion of the bible that ministered deeply to Dad was 1 Corinthians 7:14 “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. This scripture impacted him so much that he said he wanted to live up to it. He decided that if he made himself right with God our entire family would benefit from it. He decided he would give himself to God to save his family. That was remarkable. I loved and appreciated him more for that. A man giving up his life for his family! Wonderful! Dad, Mom, and I continued studying the bible together and if I needed any clarifications, being a young Christian at the time, I would call my then fiancé and now husband. It was wonderful and great. Dad and Mom were doing great so life was sweet though I still had to go to work and school with all the stress involved. Eventually, one day Dad accepted Jesus as his Lord and personal Savior and got baptized…. It was amazing! Dad was extremely joyful and grateful to God and never wavered. On the other hand, Mom continued her believe in God, prayed a lot, and continued to read the bible but was unable to give her life to Christ till a couple of years later…. As we know, life is a roller coaster. Sadly, Dad’s sickness returned. I was devastated. I fasted and prayed, our church ICC prayed, family members prayed, friends prayed, and I begged God to please, please heal him and not take him away from us. I told God how important Dad was to our family and his community in Africa. How life would come to a standstill if he was no more. I prayed with many scriptures and reminded God of His promises to those that believe in Him. My favorite prayer scripture was Isaiah 38: 5 "Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.” I begged God to add fifteen more years to Dad’s life. As I prayed and prayed the Holy Spirit began to minister to me about appreciating who Dad was and what he did. As the days went by my prayer focus changed. It shifted from what I wanted God to do to appreciating every single day that God allowed Dad to live with us. I began to appreciate the fact that God gave me such a loving Dad. I thanked God for the wonderful parents He gave me and my siblings. I celebrated every moment and it really helped to prepare me for the more difficult days to come…. One day Dad told me that he had something very important to tell me. I was very nervous. Was he to tell me he was going to die? With my heart beating so fast I managed to hide my tape recorder so that he could not see it in other for him to be totally natural in his speech. I recorded everything he said including his goodbyes. It was a powerful moment. The truth from his heart echoed in that room that hour followed by tears, silence, and other emotions. Dad knowing later that I recorded the conversation was very happy and grateful that other family members would be able to hear what he said. In later conversations with him he would request that they be recorded or videotaped. Nevertheless, on that fateful day the expected happened at an unexpected time. Dad was called home to heaven. The day began as any other day. Nothing unusual or extraordinary was expected. As I was getting ready to go to the hospital that morning to relieve mother so that she could come home and freshen up I was led to read lamentations 5:3 “We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.” I wondered why I would be led to read that. It was surreal. I was still trusting God to heal Dad so I didn’t think of him dying that day or any time soon. When I look back now I realize how the Holy Spirit was always leading me through and preparing me every step of the way. Also prior to his passing, I had a dream where he was lifted up to the heavens. In this particular dream he was laying in something that looked like a recue stretcher and was lifted up in the air into the cloud. That was another revelation of what was to come and still in denial I did not try to understand it....