It has been a difficult week. The Bothne House where my dad has been living comfortably for over a year flooded in Coon Valley, WI this past week. All the residents were evacuated in the middle of the night, and I found out the next morning that my father had been taken to Vernon Memorial hospital in Viroqua and that he was safe. That is #1 right? He is safe.
I found myself back at square one however. A need to find a new assisted living facility that can provide his needs, yet give him the freedom he needs to live his own life. That is what assisted living facilities give our loved ones.
These last few days after the flood have been full of all the same self doubt thoughts that I went through in 2015 when we first found out that dad could no longer live on his own. Do I bring him home to live with me? Do we sell our house and purchase one that will “work” when dad is under our roof? This old house wasn’t built right. One bedroom and one bathroom on the ground level (dad can no longer navigate steps). There are tons of painful reasons why we continue to choose to place dad in assisted living. Perhaps the biggest reason is his stubbornness. He listens to strangers and accepts their care, letting his children care for him seems to be something else entirely. Assisted Living also gives him a social life, even though he claims he does not need one. We all need other people.
In spite of the crazy busyness of the last few days, I have found a few minutes to read (as always), and I am still in the middle of “Imagine Heaven.” John Burke has certainly opened my eyes to the joy we will eventually feel when we join Jesus in heaven. He wrote:
There is something wired into us that we all long for, something we crave, and yet every human experience leaves us still searching. As U2 sings, “But I haven’t found what I’m looking for.” All our longings point toward Heaven, and those who have had Near Death Experiences say it’s more real and far more beautiful than we can imagine.”
John Burke uses scripture and the stories of hundreds of people who have experienced Near Death Experiences to help us imagine heaven. He says:
How did hundreds of people – doctors, airline pilots, bank presidents, tenured professors – who din’t need to make up wild stories to make money (and would lose professional credibility doing so), come to describe an amazingly similar place?
I believe he has a point. He also says, “The verses in Hebrews suggest that God created Earth in the image of Heaven, just as he created mankind in his image.”
Jesus’s disciple, John had a vision of Heaven (recorded in Revelation). Check it out in your bible. (Revelation 21:10 – 12, 19, 23). John Burke says:
I used to think the descriptions in Revelation were purely metaphorical. While I still think much is symbolic, when so many people with Near Death Experiences (even blind ones) describe the same supernatural beauty John described, you have to wonder! If it’s true, imagine how awesome, how intriguingly beautiful, how much like earth Heaven will feel, and yet so much more alive, all of it vibrant, colorful, infused with the very light and life of God permeating everything.
This book is definitely a good read. And reading it gives me hope for the future, my future and my dad’s, right at a time when I need it the most.
Given Inspiration 