“We long for the companionship of God.
We long for the assurance that we are not taking the journey alone.
That He is walking with us and talking with us and He is intimately involved in our lives.”
~ Ken Gire, Windows of the Soul

The other morning when I went into Grandpa’s room to check on him, I noticed his flip calendar. It wasn’t normal how I saw it, though. His daily devotional calendar sits on a roll top desk in the corner of his room partially hidden behind the door, so it’s not a place I usually look when I enter the room.

The funny thing is, our pet dove was perched atop my head as he often does while I work around the house (I told you it was funny), so when I walked down the hall to Grandpa’s room, the bird went along for the ride.

As I was checking a sore on Grandpa’s toe, the dove flew off my head and around the room and then he landed on Grandpa’s daily devotional calendar. I wouldn’t have noticed it otherwise. But as I was leaving the room, I picked up the calendar with the bird still perched upon it, so I could carry him back to the kitchen. That’s when my eyes fell on this verse:

“And if thy brother be waxed poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt revive him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner shall he live with thee.” Leviticus 25:35~ASV

This verse of scripture immediately consoled my heart and through it the Lord touched me deeply right where I was, showing me that he knows the anguish of my heart. He knows how I carry the health and well-being of my father so close to my heart, it hurts.

Lately, it seems that we are dealing with an unending string of medical conditions, and the added insult of a nasty cold.

Something has changed.

In order for Grandpa to finish breakfast in a reasonable amount of time – one hour verses three – I now have to feed him his cereal and egg.

Add this to the long list of  conditions we have had to deal with in the last three years:

Parkinson’s disease
chronic incontinence
impacted bowels (twice, right around Thanksgiving)
a persistent pressure ulcer
arthritis
dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
cataracts
a bacterial eye infections
Osteomyelitis (a possible bone infection of the toe)
the daily need to be reminded to drink
new dentures
three different eye glass prescriptions
a hernia operation
elimination of Benzatropine (a Parkinson’s medicine that was causing morning dementia episodes)
drooling
an open sore on his leg
ears clogged with wax
hives
a persistent rash (unknown cause)

Yes, this isn’t going to get any easier.

But now I am reminded, we don’t carry the burden alone.  It is first and foremost the Lord’s.

I mean, what are the odds of a dove landing on a devotional calendar on just that particular verse of scripture?

It was then that the Lord spoke to my heart and said: You’re right where I have placed you, Jill, in the midst of one crazy medical condition after another. I am here with you, caring for your father. I am his Father. You are my daughter. I will care for him through you. Your life is not defined by caregiving, but defined by me the ultimate caregiver who lives in your heart.

The Lord lovingly showed me that He will continue to walk with us through every change that is to come.

I am once again humbled by His grace and mercy and His timing…

I needed a special touch just now and He knew it – a Window of the Soul.