Sometimes the load is heavy
And sometimes the road is long
And sometimes Lord, this heart of mine
Is not so very strong
But Thy will be done, Lord
Thy will be done

One of my most favorite choral songs from high school, and the lyrics I sang in my own mind when I hung up the phone from my wife yesterday, having heard the latest news about my father-in-law, Larry.

Larry has fought, and fought really hard since January of 2009 when he first learned that his body had been ravaged by cancer. Truthfully - he has battled cancer for many, many years. The latest news, however, is that his fight is about over. On Wednesday, March 31, he was informed by his doctors that their human ability to intervene with the latest medicines and treatments and stop the spread of this awful disease, had run its course. Hospice will be called in to help manage him now. The time frame we have been given is 2-4 months. We pray for more.

As you can imagine, we his family, are taking this news quite hard. Many of us thought he just might beat this thing - and for 16 months he did. Barring a miraculous intervention from the Great Physician - we are near the end of the road. While we believe he will spend eternity with his Lord and Savior, the thought of him not being here is more than we can think about right now. We choose to celebrate his life in the remaining time we have, while at the same time, do what we can to help Sherry through this transition and to instill in Larry the confidence that we will carry on his legacy of caring for his wife, best friend, and companion. It will not be easy, but we will do nothing less. You can imagine Sherry's fear in all this. Rarely have the two of them been apart. Sherry's own medical needs are of concern yet family and friends are already at work behind the scenes helping to get things in order for her. Larry and Sherry have already started to have the difficult discussions (i.e. what to do with "stuff", where to live, finances, etc). Larry just needs to be absolutely certain that Sherry will be okay. He has been that way all of their life together.

Words cannot express our thanks to all who have kept up with these posts and have prayed for Larry. It has truly been the prayers and good thoughts that have sustained Larry these past 16 months. I know Larry well enough to know he wouldn't want anyone to fuss over him. He is at peace, he has fought a good fight, he has kept the faith, and he is about to finish the course.

We covet your prayers in these next months as we walk the rest of the road with him however long that may be.

Peace,


The Family