final days

One of the scariest parts of taking care of your parents may be the unknown ending. You don’t want their passing to happen because you love them dearly but can sometimes feel like you need a break. Just like having small children who won’t sleep through the night--someday they will--just when is what we don’t know. Sometimes in caring for your parent, you feel weary and tired and think that it will never end (and then you feel guilty for having that thought!).... You could gear up for anything if you knew if was going to be 2 weeks but what if this caring lasts 10 years or longer.... The unknown..... the path, which way will it lead... and when.... and how..... For years, I “worried” about how the end would be for my dad... Would he have enough money to pay for help if he needed it? Would he need full time help or have to move to a nursing home? Would he lose bowel and bladder control or be in a wheelchair that I couldn’t lift him in and out of? Would it be fast or slow? Would one day I go out there and he be “gone” or worse, if I sent a child out to tell him it’s dinner time and he already be “gone”...... The important thing for us to remember is that: God is in control.... the decline and final story ending for your parent will not be a surprise ending for him. It is not a mystery to God. Our job is to be obedient and care for them with excellence until it is time and then rest and lean on the Lord as you walk through the valley as the end approaches.... Pray for patience so you can be the hands and feet of Christ. Trust in the One who knows how the story ends and until then, enjoy the story, slowing down to savor every page of it! Your role is vital to the plot and an integral part of a beautiful story that God has already written.