A Wonderful Blessing

Ann Cooper

            In 2007 my husband and I bought a small Tennessee farm and spent the next two years happily repairing and improving the old farm house and barn on the property. We were enjoying all our projects and seeing the farm take shape.

             In 2009 my husband had an accident while he was putting up fences that caused a small wound in his arm. He ignored it, wrapped it in a bandana handkerchief, and continued working. The wound became infected, which the doctors said had "turned septic". This is just a fancy word for blood poisoning. He was very ill and all of his vital organs, especially his lungs, were very badly damaged.

            My beloved husband of 62 years was never the same again. He had to have a sleeping mask that would turn on when he quit breathing. This was to control his sleep apnea. Soon afterward he had to have oxygen at all times. Several times an extended hospital stay was required.

            When he returned from his last stay in the hospital he called our daughter Mary Ann and me to his bedside and demanded a promise that we would never put him in the hospital again. Many days he was not in touch with reality and was drifting in and out, sometimes clear and sometimes understanding nothing. The second stage of Alzheimer's was setting in also.

            Mary Ann, who is a nurse, said, "Mom, let's move everything out of the living room and set it up like a hospital room." No sooner was that done than he failed to recognize either of us. Mary Ann gave him the most tender, loving care --above and beyond expectations. I could not have done it without her. For two weeks we could not communicate with him.

            This was such a sad time for me, as day by day he moved further and further away. At 3:00 a.m. on April 28, 2010, as I slept near him on a cot, he called my name twice. I jumped up and ran to his bedside. Very clearly he said to me, "Ann, I love you very much." I had heard of moments of clarity shortly before death, but I had never seen it. I called Mary Ann and together we sat on either side of his bed holding his hand. We hoped that he could understand that we were telling him good-bye, and how much we loved him. At 7:00 o'clock that same morning he quietly passed away.

            I shall thank God forever for that last time to say "I love you" and to say "Good-bye". What a wonderful blessing!

In response to the first edition of "Magnify the Living Lord," Volume 2 has now been compiled. It includes the shared experiences of The Episcopal Church of The Good Shepherd parishioners, as well as from people outside our church.           

            One writer in a Forward Day by Day (a devotional publication of the Episcopal Church) piece had this to say: "Everyone can recall times in his or her life when it was evident that the Lord was actively involved in shaping the outcome. Opportunities appear out of nowhere or paths that seem open are suddenly closed and no longer viable. Many refer to these as "a God thing" because it is obvious that circumstances are being maneuvered by forces beyond our comprehension. It is sometimes difficult to see until much later, when we look back on something and realize that God's hand was there."

In an excerpt from another piece in Forward Day by Day, a writer said, "...this living Lord uses other means, in addition to scripture, to reach us with the Word for our time. We cannot prescribe how or where God will speak to us. We cannot restrict God's movement or message. We can only be attentive to events and persons around us and faithful in our worship and study. If we are attentive, we, like so many before us, may find that this living Lord is much closer than we have ever imagined."

In Psalm 27:13 it is written -"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living". You will see that this is very true even today as you read these accounts -- occurrences that leave no doubt.

If you have not yet become aware of such happenings in your own life, may these readings jog your memory/understanding as to how God has been there for you.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

                                                                        Joy Sutton

Church of The Good Shepherd Website

Magnify the Living Lord Archives