Prayer Request

Self ^ | 05 January 2007 | mkjessup

[mkjessup]

My FRiends, I would be very grateful for your prayers in behalf of my Dad whose health has taken a turn for the worse right after Thanksgiving, and even more so in the past few days. Dad is 81, a veteran of World War II in the Pacific Theatre, he served as a munitions expert, Browning Automatic rifleman, and finally as a medical corpsman before being wounded and sent home. He continued to serve our Nation in the Department of the Army his entire working career. He has been the finest Dad I could ask for and my life has been blessed by being his son. I have asked God what I believe my Dad would want me to ask, which is that God's Will be done. My own human desires and needs want to see my Dad restored completely to health and bounce out of his hospital bed, which would honestly require a miracle at this point. Dad is quite frankly suffering from old age, injured hip (did not require surgery), kidney infection, loss of appetite, one moment completely lucid, next moment, not quite so good. My Mom is holding up well all things considered, she and my Dad have been inseperable and happily married 53 years last month, I wish for them many more on this Earth, if that is part of God's Plan. I thank you and as my Dad would say, 'May the Lord be with you'.

Best Regards,

MKJ

[sasha123]

That must have been a very difficult thing to do today. We are continuing to pray for your family.

[mkjessup]

Good Morning FRiends...

It is not quite 10:30 am EST Wednesday and not a lot of news thus far today, Dad has been sleeping more, and that suggests to us that he is nearing the end of his Earthly journey although there isn't any way to know how long that is going to be yet, 'in God's Good Time' is the saying that applies here.

We are doing our best to make him aware of our being with him without disturbing him too much, there are some brief wakeful periods for Dad where he seems to enjoy some vanilla ice cream, so he's getting whatever he seems to want. I mentioned that at some point I might share a few stories about my Dad, and this seems appropriate at this time: during the mid 1930s, Dad worked as an elevator boy at the U.S. Capitol while he was in school, and got to know then-Senator Harry Truman, who would get into Dad's car each morning, address him by name, and chat a bit before the car got to his destination. After Truman left office in January '53, he and Dad stayed in contact via letter, nothing real close but friendly just the same. Dad always admired Truman and so we fast forward to today, and Dad has occasionally been asking about "President Truman" and how he should "address" him, naturally we've told him that "Mr. President" is just fine, so hopefully in his remaining time, Dad is re-living some pleasant memories we hope, and we're doing our best to make him comfortable.

Your continued thoughts and prayers are appreciated, and I thank all of you for being the kind of people that I know Dad would be proud to call his friends and neighbors.

Blessings to you all!

Best,

Mark :)

[Pegita]

Unto You, O Lord, we return with praise and thanksgiving, for Your mercy abounds over this beloved Father. Thank You for the love and comfort that the presence of his family brings, and for the moments of clarity they can gratefully share. Thank You for the warm memories of times past and for stories of honor and respect and humility. May it be, Merciful Father, that this dear gentleman's heart and soul will fill with visions of the Heavenly Realm, and that when called into Your Presence, his beloved family might weep the tears of a loved one gone, but only as one who has gone before into the Glory of Eternal Life.

"In His hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:10.

Blessed be Your Name, O Lord, now and forever more, Amen ...

[Hand em their arse]

Mark,

I apologize, I just saw your thread today for the first time... Please know that your dad, along with you and your mom, are in my thoughts and prayers...

May the Lord bless you and keep you all in the palm of his hand.... Amen

Dave

[fredhead]

My prayers to you and your family. It is hard to let him go, but for me it is comforting to know that one goes to be with our Savior, Jesus.

You see, I lost my Dad last September (age 87) and Mom just before this last Christmas (age 80). Dad fought in WWII, met Mom on maneuvers in TN in '42, and they both worked for the DOD until retirement.

One of the fondest memories was Labor Day weekend 2005, when my wife, daughter and I took them fishing on our (then new) boat. They both always loved to fish, and we had a great day.

Remember the good times, and when he passes (whether sooner or later), he will always live in your heart.

[California74]

Mark,

What a wonderful story you shared about your dad and President Truman. Thank you for sharing it.

I am praying for your dad and for you and your entire family as well. Especially your mom. My dad passed away 4 years ago and my mom and I were at his side. There truly can be a peace that passes all understanding at difficult times like this.

[DUH]

Prayers & Expectations

John 14:14

[sasha123]

that is a wonderful and heartwarming story. Thank you for sharing it with us. I pray for continued warm memories for all of you as you are reflecting. My the presence of the Lord and his angels fill your father's room.

[Rte66]

I'm thinking the next time your dad sees Pres Truman, it might be OK to call him Harry. Sleep peacefully, Mark, you're doing a great job with your father. Blessings to you all!

[freema]

What a wonderful picture. I'm sure you are cherishing every moment, so I won't give you that lil' tidbit : ) I'll be thinking of you.

[onyx]

My continued prayers for your cherished dad and your family.

[mkjessup]

Hello FRiends!

5:15 pm EST...

I am cautiously optimistic about Dad, today he seemed a bit more alert, and he still retains enough cleverness to convince the nurses and orderlies to bring him extra vanilla ice cream (which he loves), and while he hasn't been eating as much solid food as we would like (he is receiving a nutrient drink to keep his caloric intake as high as possible), he almost seems to be getting a little bit of appetite back (at least for the ice cream, ha!).

Dad is still having moments of not-so-lucid thoughts, he thought that someone was shooting a gun outside his window today and warned my Mom to 'keep her head down', naturally we don't contradict him, we all tell him that we'll be careful and he seems to be content with that.

Mom is doing pretty well this evening, I told her that she ought to treat herself in some way (since she won't let anyone do too much for her in the way of gifts, etc, not even me), so she told me a little while ago that she stopped by a used book store and bought $50 worth of old paperback science fiction and mystery books (she is a lifelong fan of Ellery Queen), and she said she needed something to read while Dad is snoozing off and on, or when she wakes up during the night and can't get back to sleep.

So, there is a degree of some sort of routine, I wouldn't call any of this 'normal' (who would?), but I do know one thing: our family is facing this challenge much better than we would without your thoughts and prayers. You are wonderful people and please know this too, that although I certainly know that your prayerful efforts on our behalf are made without any thought of reward, compensation, or return, you may be assured that the God we serve will not forget what you have done and continue to do for us, a family you honestly don't know and most likely will never meet.

Our Lord said that someone who even gives a drink of water to a thirsty child will not be forgotten by our Father, and I know you will all see that same principle working in your lives at some future point. I firmly believe that.

I may not be online but once or twice a day this weekend but I will keep you all up to date on how things are with Dad, I told him that there were a whole lot of good folks that he didn't even know, who were praying for him, and appreciated him, and he smiled and said 'thank them for me'.

And I do.

Blessings to you all, and do enjoy the weekend! :)

Best,

Mark

[derllak]

Your dad looks like such a sweet guy. You, on the other hand, look like you've been up to no good with that impish grin on your face! Your family will be in my prayers. :)

[mkjessup]

Good Morning FRiends!

Coming up on 7:45 EST, January 16th...

This past weekend was not all bad, Dad is (IMHO) beginning to puzzle his doctors and the staff because while he isn't making enormous improvements, his condition is not deteriorating as it was. Mom is not allowing herself to indulge in over-optimistic hopes (which is probably a good thing), however I have to say that I am encouraged by the fact that Dad appears to be trying to hold his own more.

I do know that he is less than comfortable, Dad has never been one to want to be catered to, cared for, or in a position where he isn't able to take care of himself. When his strength still permits it, he is still using his own electric razor in the morning and as simple and ordinary a task as that is, I am delighted to see that he is making that effort to retain a degree of his formerly 'normal' routine, and he is still definitely working at the task of getting ice cream when he can (vanilla only), ha!

On the more sobering side of things, Dad is still very much concerned in his mind that there is a risk of a nuclear detonation nearby, and he is adamant about wanting to warn people to prepare for it. Mom semi-confirmed to me something that I had always suspected, and that is that Dad very likely was one of those few people to actually witness some of the open air nuclear testing out west during the late 1950's. If I were to guess at a time frame, I would say probably mid-1957 to mid/late 1958 or thereabouts.

In any event, we always take his warnings and advisories respectfully and assure him that we will try to be prepared as best we can, and he is glad to hear that.

Some of you might notice that I'm back to posting a bit on the other threads here on FR, I wish that meant that things are back to normal, Dad near to being ready to go home with Mom back to the house. We're not there yet, but I remain hopeful that it could work out that way. We leave it all in God's Hands, the way Dad has done all his life.

I have to say that there is a sense of peace within our family, and your kind words and thoughts, wishes and prayers are what I attribute that to, and we thank you all so much for it.

I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as events continue to unfold, and please know that each one of you are in my prayers, the Lord be with you all.

Blessings & Thanks!

Mark :)

[divine_moment_of_facts]

Prayer Bump!

[hershey]

Prayers from here.

[mkjessup]

My Dear FRiends...

I was about to begin this post with the words "I regret..." but my Dad would not want me to start that way. So I will say that Dad has passed from this life into eternity. He knew how much we loved him, and we knew how much he loves us. I say 'loves' because I will not speak in the past tense, because I know that at this very moment, my Dad is in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God Himself, and 'all things have become New', he is joyously with his parents, his sister that he never knew (she died at birth in 1939), and he is as strong and vibrant, and more so, than he has ever been in this life where we still reside.

I will do as my Dad taught me to do, which is to never be too big or too old to get on my hands and knees and seek the Lord in prayer. And God is Faithful and True, and I had told Dad in the past year when his health was not good, that I knew that the Lord would not have brought him this far in life to leave him by the wayside, and my belief was validated today, because I know that Dad left us with angels guiding him on, and guiding him up.

I will remain a flawed human being, a sinner saved by grace, but I know that I will see Dad once again, one glorious Day, and all tears shall be wiped away.

Mom is doing as well as possible. For her, and for all of our family we have found that it is true: no matter what we may believe beforehand, it is never truly possible to be 'ready' for the passing of a loved one, it hits you like a freight train coming down the rails, there is no room for nonchalance.

In my prayers for my Dad, I ultimately had to come to a point when I expressed to the Lord that I had no doubt that if I were to ask in Jesus Name, if I were to invoke the Power of His Name, that my Dad could indeed rise up out of his bed and live. But I had to acknowledge and confess that I would be seeking my will, my own desires no matter how genuine and sincere they were, over the Will of my God, I would be placing my own wishes ahead of the Lord's Plan. So all I could pray was "Thy Will Be Done" as I began this thread not quite two weeks ago.

God's Will has been done. My Dad has arisen out of his deathbed, no longer hindered by his physical body, and he is indeed with the Lord this day.

I thank you, each and every one of you for your kindness, for your prayers and good wishes, and our family will not forget you, and one day we will all meet in Our Father's House.

May the Lord be with you all.

Mark

[Rte66]

I'm so sorry. I didn't see your post until now. I still had a candle lit for him and for you.

My condolences to your mom and all your family.

{{{{Huggsss}}}}

(\O/)
-/_\-

[.30Carbine]

Thank you for this glorious testimony, the Power and Wonder of God on display among His Saints. His Grace and Peace watch over, fill, protect thee and thine in these days, because of Jesus Christ, hallelujah, amen.