Temporary Home

"Old man, hospital bed 
The room is filled with people he loves 
And he whispers don't cry for me 
I'll see you all someday 
He looks up and says "I can see God's face."

"This is our temporary home 
It's not where we belong 
Windows and rooms that we're passin' through 
This is just a stop, on the way to where we're going 
I'm not afraid because I know this is our 
Temporary Home." 

~Carrie Underwood

I can close my eyes and see it as if it were yesterday....every sound, every detail, every face that surrounded that hospital room.  If I linger too long, the thought begins to haunt me.  I had seen him weeks before, and weeks before, he had been fine.  He was not fine, however, when I finally got there.  There are many things I want to forget, but there is one thing I will always remember.  When I walked into the room, tears began flooding my eyes at the very sight of his condition.  As I held his freezing cold hand and told him I loved him, he opened his eyes, gave me a slight nod, and closed them.  That was the last time he was able to acknowledge my presence.  That was the last time I saw him awake before we watched him take his last breath.

We all face many trials in this life, some we may never understand, yet we are asked to walk through them.  The world wages a tough battle, one I would be defeated by daily if didn't have faith.  I can't believe it has been 7 months since losing Papa.  It was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to experience.  What scares me most, however, is knowing it will not be my last.  As I listened to the words of "Temporary Home," I began to cry....and cry...and cry.  I know that if Papa could have talked that day he would have told us just what the message of this song portrays.  I am so thankful for his example, his love, his life.

Merry Christmas Papa!