2 Corinthians 1:4
God comforts us in all our troubles
so that we can comfort others.
When they are troubled,
we will be able to give them
the same comfort God has given us.
IMAGE DETAILS
My Dad
Purpose Gallery
St. Luke’s Hospital
The Woodlands, Texas
Fall 2020
SEVENAPPLES COMMENTARY
My father, Bob Ulmer, died yesterday
at 4:19pm. He suffered a stroke earlier
this week and was unable to recover.
He passed peacefully. The staff at
St. Luke’s provided exceptional care.
There is no one in my life whose salvation
I have prayed for more than my Dad’s.
As many folks know, my father battled
alcoholism most of his adult life. His disease
made it difficult to maintain many relationships.
So much so that in the past decade l’ve only
gotten to see my Dad a handful of times.
Despite this disconnect, my 11-year-old
daughter Charlotte had a remarkable dream
about her G-Pa two weeks ago. She was
so moved by the dream that she shared
it with me as soon as she woke up.
In the dream, Charlotte took me to the
apartment G-Pa shared with his sweet partner,
Miss Peggy. Once there, Charlotte said we
all sat together while she read the Bible
to my Dad, beginning in Genesis.
She noted that while she read to him, my
Dad listened, but for some reason, was
unable to speak. As the dream concluded,
Charlotte said there was a deep sense of
peace, or harmony. As she described the
feeling, the word that came to my mind
was reconciled.
Charlotte felt like the dream was something
the Lord wanted to happen, so we decided
to try to visit G-Pa the next day in order to
make it a reality. We called, but G-Pa was
unavailable. We tried again a few days later.
But he was still unavailable. And then I learned
on Monday that my Dad had just been admitted
to the ICU.
So Charlotte and I went straight to the hospital.
Once again, we were unable to see him.
(The precautions related to the pandemic
mean that no one under 18 is allowed to
visit patients at St. Luke’s, and each patient
is only allowed one visitor per day.)
On Tuesday evening I was permitted a short
visit. Due to the severity of the stroke, I had
been called-in as next-of-kin to make some
decisions about life support.
My Dad was incapacitated; unable to
communicate or open his eyes. But I was
told he could hear us. (Just like in
Charlotte’s dream, he could listen, but he
was unable to speak.) So I sat down with
him and held his hand. I shared his
granddaughter’s dream in detail. I read to
him from Genesis. I prayed for him. And
then I leaned in close and told him one
more time, “Jesus died for you. Jesus
wants to save you. In whatever way you
can, cry out to him for rescue.”
The moment I finished speaking, my Dad
responded the only way he had left.
Three clear squeezes of the hand…
“I. Love. You.”
Jesus, thank you for saving my Dad.
Thank you for sending Charlotte that
dream. I believe you have reconciled
your son to yourself, and late
is always better than never.
-ju
