Losing a parent is not easy.  As you may already know about me, I have buried a daughter and a husband.  Now, I am walking a new journey of grief with my father’s passing.  My dad was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiform (GBM) in December 2014, shortly after learning he had a brain tumor on November 20, 2014.  GBM is an aggressive form of brain cancer that rips the life out of the person fighting so hard.  It’s the same cancer Sen. John McCain is currently battling.  My dad fought courageously for 22 months, about 8 months longer than the average life span of a person diagnosed with GBM.

Watching my dad slowly not be able to function for himself was difficult and gut wrenching.  My dad was an oversized man who was accustomed to sacrificing for everyone else.  He was our handy man.  He was our electrician.  He was our plumber.  He was our mechanic.  He was our counselor.  He was PAW PAW.  He was DAD!  I was his oldest of 2 girls and the one most like him.  While he was battling this horrible disease, he was not the same person we knew.  Slowly, his memory was taken from him.  He was unable to perform tasks that we took for granted that he would be around to complete.  When I had issues with a dishwasher, I was finding myself wondering who would I call.  Usually, I would pick up the phone and call him.  If he couldn’t walk me through the problem, if he was home from the boat, he would come on over to fix it himself.

I struggled with losing my earthly father and trusting my Heavenly Father to be my provider.  Now, we are more than one year since his passing.  Life is still not easy but we are adjusting to our new normal.  His Word tells me in Ps 68:5, “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His Holy habitation”.   So, I know that even though my earthly father has left this journey called life, my Heavenly Father is the one to whom I need to look.  Reality has set in I believe and we realize my dad is not on his 14/7 hitch but instead he is on his permanent hitch in Heaven.  You see, I had the privilege of bringing my dad to church after he fell sick.  During this season of his life, he “got right with Jesus” as he loved saying.  So, I know that I have the hope of seeing him again, but until then, I will focus on living my life for my Heavenly Father trusting His plan so that I am able to be reunited with my loved ones who have accepted His gift of salvation.