Thanks to Margaret Feinberg's book The Sacred Echo, I was reminded of Jesus' words with Peter in John 21:18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” As I watched my dad battle cancer earlier this year these words took on new meaning to me. Here was a man who had taken care of my in various ways and to various degrees for over 30 years and now it was my turn. (I am blessed that in spite of my parent's divorce both nurtured and cared for me as best they could and in their own way.) It was difficult for both of us I believe to reach the stage of life where the caregiver becomes the one needing care. Humbling to the say the least...
In those final days, Dad became a living reminder of this verse, but more than that, he was a living reminder of the utter dependence we have on God and the gospel for life to have any meaning and purpose.
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