Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you. Exodus 20:12 (Amplified Bible)
Forty years of stuff! Sorting, keeping, throwing, and giving away all kinds of things from my Dad’s house filled this last week. With the passing of my mom, he has decided that moving to an assisted living facility is the best alternative but that means the dreaded word, move—and stuff—and judgment calls. His mind is sharp but his body fails him due to severe arthritis and macular degeneration making it necessary for him to depend on us to make those hard choices and do the work. I know it was very difficult for him to watch us dismantle his home and see bags carted out of the house, and we only cleaned out closets! For you see, Dad, a military man for 20 years plus a career as a civil engineer, made decisions every day. I am finding that taking on the role of parent to an aging parent is one of the hardest. As difficult as this is for me, I can only imagine how tough this must be for him, a very independent man. Yet, I am thankful that he allows me to help. As unprepared as I feel for this task, I know that God is there to guide me. While there, we visited several nice housing options but the final place was just what we all were hoping to find. It had the people,amenities, and location that encouraged us that Dad will becomfortable and well cared for, and he is excited about the choice.However, once more, we wait because the type of room he wants is not available—at least for now. Maybe that phone will ring tomorrow—or not—but I know we can trust that our Heavenly Father knows just the right situation for my dad. And the timing will be perfect!