The Voice of His Love

My mom went home to be with the Lord in July of 2013. With her passing, my dad struggled to find his place. He was so lost without her and just could not figure out life. Five years after she died, he made the decision to sell their home in Wooster and move to an assisted living facility in Macedonia.

With the onset of Alzheimer’s, I had the privilege of caring for my dad for the last three years of his life. In the extreme loneliness of the Covid year, my dad stopped eating well. With his failing health, the facility called me in and gave me freedom to visit whenever I wanted. Falls became more frequent, finances more confusing, and soon one move led to another until I made the most difficult decision to move him into the memory care unit. This broke my heart, knowing it was the one move he never wanted but the care I knew he needed. Though settled in and comfortable under hospice care, I watched as he slipped away. The week before he died, the Lord blessed us with a day of complete clarity where we shared memories through a scrapbook and an afternoon of laughter. Little did I know a week later he would be gone.

The days following his death were like a blur. Many decisions were on my shoulders as the only one left in our immediate family. In just a moment I had gone from providing his complete care to having no one to care for, gone from being a daughter to being an orphan. My parents were both gone, and I felt so utterly alone, even with my family all around me.

I remember texting the words to my friend, “I feel incredibly overwhelmed with all that is before me.” With the promise of help, I got through the day and woke up the next morning with God’s promise from Psalm 143.

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 143:8)

In Psalm 143, the story unfolds of David’s struggles as enemies unjustly persecuted him. With the pursuit difficult and ongoing, he felt crushed to the ground. Completely spent, he no longer had the spiritual and emotional strength to overcome them. But then he remembered. God’s past faithfulness and His never-ending love filled David’s mind as he recalled God’s promises.

David awoke with the voice of God’s loving kindness in his heart. With the assurance of God’s presence, he moved forward in trust taking his refuge in God. Deliverance came as David reached out for God, who showed him the way to go. With trust came confidence God would work all things for his good and God’s glory.

From the moment I discovered those words of comfort, I felt peace as I placed my hand in God’s, allowing Him to guide me through those difficult days. I often come back to that verse and remember God’s morning reminder of love. Times of feeling lost can still overwhelm me, but I look to Him trusting His faithfulness to show me the path.

When have you felt lost and alone? Where has the confusion of life caused you to feel lost?

Remember God. Start your day hearing afresh the voice of His love. With your hand in His, you will know the way to go.

In His Love,

Susan