"Normal"

Dad is back home and things are returning to "normal". The last 9 months or so have redefined what we consider "normal". In our own way, each of us has had to come to terms with Dad's condition and accept the fact that our family will be forever changed as a result of Dad's condition. Dad was diagnosed in August of last year. Then in the fall we were all in crisis mode dealing with the quick and severe turn in Dad's health. So, it wasn't until the last few months that it really began to settle in that this was now the new "normal" for our family. This is not a journey any of us, especially Dad, was prepared for nor would we have chosen. We all had different plans, different expectations of what our life as a family would be like. But, this is the journey that was chosen for us. We know that God is faithful, and cling to his promise in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". However, we have all wrestled with God along the way trying to understand in our own humanness the why. Why my Dad? Why now? Why this? We know we are not likely to find the answers here, but we still ask. Like Jacob in Genesis 32, even though we wrestle with God, we are still hanging on to Him trusting in His blessing.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Dad. His health is relatively stable right now, but he is often frustrated by his lack of physical abilities. Please pray for his physical healing as well as his emotional well-being as he continues to adjust to his "normal".