New Year

We are already 1/12th of the way through the new year.  We have had up and down weather; warm and rainy to bitter cold and back in a matter of days.  So far it has been tolerable and we have been able to get the work done that we need to get done.

Phil came and took the trunk of our walnut tree down.  He will cut it up for walnut lumber with his band-saw/sawmill.

We went to a wedding in Goodfield and saw a first.  The bride and groom left the reception in his garbage truck!  He had it cleaned and shined up for the occasion!

The past two weeks I have been attending meetings, seminars, and conferences.  I have been all over central Illinois; Peoria, Bloomington, Springfield, Morton, and Tremont.  Haven't had a bad meal yet!

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
Ecclesiastes 11:3

Bed

So my daughter suggested I blog about my in-laws' bed which she and her husband  now own.  It is a long story, but I will try to give a short version without leaving out any important points.
It takes place in April 1992.

My Father-in-law fought a two year battle with esophageal cancer.  Difficulty swallowing, diagnosis, surgery to remove tumor, chemo, remission for several months, return of cancer in other organs, second round of chemo, and finally nothing more to be done but accept God's will.  He was very fortunate in that the most pain he had was handled with two Ibuprofen.  Weakness, feeling chilled, and having no appetite were his biggest problems during his battle.  Except for the surgery, he was always at home.  As the end neared, he spent his days in his recliner.  His primary caregivers were his wife and son.  A nurse friend stopped by occasionally.

My wife and a couple of our kids spent the day with them. She reported that he had gotten so weak that he could no longer transfer himself without help.  A short conversation took all his energy and tired him out.

As I was headed out to plant corn the next morning, we received the news that he had passed away in the night.  We immediately changed clothes and headed to Gridley.  We arrived at the house just after the undertaker had left.  There was other family there, and after the initial greeting and exchange of condolences, my mother-in-law and Steve shared this story.

After my wife had left, they got him ready and put him in bed.  He was too exhausted to talk.  Then they also went to bed for the night.  In the middle of the night, he woke her up .
"Do you need something, Elmer?"
"No . . . I love you!"
"You woke me up just to tell me that?"
"Yes"
 . . pause
"Are you leaving me now?"
"Yes"
"Do you see Heaven?"
"Yes"
He told her heaven was beautiful, and he reminded her that since they repented together he was sure they would be together again. The conversation was short as he could barely speak above a whisper.
"Should I wake up Steve?"
"Yes"

After Steve came down and had a prayer with them, they visited a little, but my Father-in-law was too exhausted to speak anymore.
"Should we go back to sleep?"
"Yes"

At 6:00 in the morning, when the sun shining in the window woke my Mother-in-law, without looking at him, she instinctively knew he was gone.  When she looked at him, she said his eyes were "smiling".

The verse on my wife's calendar that morning was a perfect fit for him:

Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Psalm 32:2