Journey’s End

I stood on the balcony of my daughter’s condo in Ann Arbor in wonder and gratitude. As I looked at the beautiful park and river and the amazing pool below, I felt humbled by the extravagant gift God had provided for her. He is the father to the fatherless. He showed us that truth in dramatic fashion by providing the condo the very day after my husband’s death. It was if he was saying, “I’m her dad now, I’ve got this.”

This seven year journey has been one of many sorrows, but also of beauty and grace. There have been “streams in the desert”, but also a refining that only comes through fire. I still shake my head in disbelief that this is our life now. But we are not the first family to stare straight into the face of terminal illness and Alzheimer’s disease. My children and I have joined the unfortunate club of the fatherless and widow. Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purposes”, is a truth I now have a better understanding of. Are disease and death good? No! It is in the journey and how we face the trial that allows God to work in our lives. I am not the same girl I was seven years ago.

One part of our journey has ended, and this new path is unfamiliar and somewhat scary, but we don’t travel it alone. My hope for this time is to share with you the truths that have come to me at an extremely high price. My desire is to bring strength and hope to the weary, because like many of you, I have been there.