Here's hoping

Yup, I still have hope. I think God intended it that way. I don't think that I could ever lose all hope. I love the guy! I love love love him. How could I not keep hoping that my dad will get well enough to come home and be a functioning member our our family?

It makes it easier when you have a visit with him like my mom and I did last night. His eyes were clear. There was no anger in his voice. He even listened to us and asked us questions--and the questions weren't manipulative in nature! He laughed and we laughed with him.

I know, I know. I know that he could be different today. I know that everything that he said to us yesterday could have been a lie. He is after all an addict. He does seem to be more together. He is identifying that HE needs to work to get better. HE needs to make some decisions regarding his life. Usually, all we hear is him blaming others for his troubles. It seems like the work he is doing at Holland Hospital right now has been helpful. His time there is limited though. He has to choose a new place to live. The hospital is working with him to find a place that will continue to help him. It is totally his decision as this is his recovery. Will you join us in praying that he'll make a good decision regarding his future care? My mom and I ended our time with dad by praying together while holding hands. It is the first time I've held his hand and I liked it. I hope that we get to pray together again soon.

Especially in this holiday season I need to think and hope that maybe next year we'll be celebrating Christmas as a whole family.

On a side note, mom and I left with a spring in our step. We looked at each other and laughed in the elevator at what we had just experienced together. We blessed God! As we stepped out of the elevator we were confronted by someone who had heard of our situation. This person was critical of our family, judged us, and wanted us to "be on the same page". I think they wanted us to be on their page. Though it shook us a bit, I did find myself laughing about it. God was working in dad's life and so we needed to be attacked. Do you ever have that? You are walking with God so the evil one needs to throw some weight around. I was thankful that we were worthy of such an attack. It didn't stop me from replaying the scene over and over in my head. I'm so thankful for friends who support us and trust that all the professional and spiritual help we are getting is right. I'm so thankful for friends who may not have a clue about what is happening, yet they continue to pray for us. I'm thankful for people who want to judge, yet refrain from doing so because they realize that they don't "know everything". I'm living it and I still don't know everything. :) Thanks for being a positive part of our journey.