As comforting as these things might be, seeing Dad "sleeping" on his hospital bed is always unsettling, even when you've spent a lot of time in the room with him. For that reason, we genuinely appreciate all of the visitors who have come to see Dad. We know it isn't anyone's idea of a "good time," but Dad was blessed with almost 40 visitors today - not including immediate family! Mom, who was bedside from early this morning until past 11:30 tonight, has been a real trooper, and we all appreciate the outpouring of support.
Dad's medical situation has not changed. The doctors and nurses are committed to treating him as if he could recover, even though they have told us that, medically-speaking, he doesn't have a chance of recovering due to the brain stem damage. We know that God could heal Dad - and our faith in this regard remains unwavering. That said, if fervent prayer and heartfelt faith always healed people, Dad would outlive the Guinness Book of World Records. We believe that God uses doctors to heal, and sometimes God heals in spite of them. But he also calls His people home when their work on earth is done.
As dear Uncle Chuck pointed out to me yesterday, we must fight a tendency to "play God," by pretending that we know better than God and by praying only for our will to be done, rather than God's. Jesus, in teaching his followers how to pray, told them to pray that God's will would be done on earth, as it is in heaven. And, shortly before he was crucified, he prayed to God "not my will, but yours be done." If I were God, Dad would have been out of the hospital long ago. At this point, however, that does not appear to be God's will.
As dear Uncle Chuck pointed out to me yesterday, we must fight a tendency to "play God," by pretending that we know better than God and by praying only for our will to be done, rather than God's. Jesus, in teaching his followers how to pray, told them to pray that God's will would be done on earth, as it is in heaven. And, shortly before he was crucified, he prayed to God "not my will, but yours be done." If I were God, Dad would have been out of the hospital long ago. At this point, however, that does not appear to be God's will.
Mom sent me a quote today by one of my favorite authors, Phillip Yancey: "Faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse." That rings so true. I was talking to a co-working yesterday about why it can be so difficult to have faith that God has things under control. The difficulty with "keeping the faith" is that, well, it requires faith! The Bible defines faith as "being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see." It doesn't take faith to be sure of what you know or certain of what you cannot miss!
To truly exercise that kind of faith, I need to...
1) trust God's sovereignty, even when it feels like He made a mistake;
2) keep an eternal perspective when I become weighed down by temporary concerns; and
3) remember God's past faithfulness, because He has guided my "ship" through dark storms before.
This is all, of course, much easier said than done... but it's worth the effort!
In other news, Grace hopefully got on an airplane in Antarctica tonight, but we should know more about her arrival time tomorrow. Again, we will be asking for some familial privacy after she gets here, but just give us a heads up if you'd like to visit. We are trying to space people throughout the day, to respect the needs of other ICU patients and families. It also maximizes your ability to talk to Dad privately and gives Mom a chance to talk to everyone, as well.
To truly exercise that kind of faith, I need to...
1) trust God's sovereignty, even when it feels like He made a mistake;
2) keep an eternal perspective when I become weighed down by temporary concerns; and
3) remember God's past faithfulness, because He has guided my "ship" through dark storms before.
This is all, of course, much easier said than done... but it's worth the effort!
In other news, Grace hopefully got on an airplane in Antarctica tonight, but we should know more about her arrival time tomorrow. Again, we will be asking for some familial privacy after she gets here, but just give us a heads up if you'd like to visit. We are trying to space people throughout the day, to respect the needs of other ICU patients and families. It also maximizes your ability to talk to Dad privately and gives Mom a chance to talk to everyone, as well.
3 comments:
Thanks, Shi. Love you. Dad raised a good man.
A new baby allows for many middle-of-the-night prayers for your dad and family as well as reflecting on stories such as that of Lazarus, which you mentioned a couple days ago. I've been thinking about how Jesus didn't immediately go out to Bethany (uh, the place, not your sister) to heal Lazarus even though Mary and Martha specifically sent him a message hinting that "Hey, coming to heal Lazarus now would be awesome." That would have been miraculous, indeed -- but Jesus allowed them to go through deep personal pain so that God would get maximum glory.
So that's what I've been praying for your family -- that God gets maximum glory. How much we would rejoice and love it if your dad had a medical miracle and was fully restored to us! We still continue to pray for that, knowing that it is completely possible with God's power. But I've also been praying that we can trust that somehow it is to God's maximum glory if that specific miracle doesn't happen the way we want it to.
You Sorbellos embody the phrase "keeping the faith" to me. Thanks again for blogging regularly, Shiloh - both Steve and I are hanging on every word.
Shiloh, maybe you are in the wrong profession, you would make a great pastor. I like the quote that basically said, "being...certain of what you do not see." May we all spiritually see the things that cannot be seen, and hear the things that cannot be heard, making us mighty spiritual warriors upon the earth. Thank you so much for writing these blogs and keeping us updated with what is happening. I know that it has not been easy. Blessings upon you and your family.
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