He stood up

Yesterday I took my daughter with me to visit my dad, and I wound up wheeling him outside into the courtyard area and stopped in the Gazebo. I was talking to my daughter, and when I looked back at my dad, he was nodding off. My daughter then surprised me by saying, "We need to pray for him." Keep in mind, we do pray for him every night when she does her bedtime prayers. But this time she wanted to pray for him right there on the spot. So we bowed our heads, and my five year old daughter prayed a sweet little prayer for him. So simple, yet so heartfelt. Then she asked if I wanted to pray, so I did. We prayed that he would be able to sleep better at night, and I prayed once again for God to heal him. When we finished, my daughter ran off to play in the grass.

A few seconds later, when my daughter came running back to the gazebo with a bunch of little flowers in her hand, my dad woke up with a start. He looked around like he wasn't sure what was going on. I told him we were outside, and pointed to my daughter and said, "There's your granddaughter," and said her name. She showed him the bunch of flowers, then took one out and gave it to him, saying, "Here ya go. One for you.." which he was suddenly able to take without any problem, then she turned and gave me a flower, saying, "And one for you." Then gave one to him again, then me, and back and forth until they were all gone.

Then my dad's facial expression changed, and he put his hands on either side of his wheelchair and moved his legs and feet in such a way that I figured out he wanted to get up. I moved the leg rests to where he could put his feet down, then I got on one side and my daughter got on the other, and we supported him while he very slowly stood all the way up. He very nearly stood on his own, but not quite. It was so close, though. Oh so close. I sat him back down, then I let him try two more times. He was very determined not to sit back down the third time, but since I could feel him beginning to lose his balance, I didn't want to chance him falling, and my very attentive daughter ran inside to get one of the workers to come and help, so I could get him all the way back into the wheelchair (he didn't want to sit back but wanted to stay on the edge).

I was amazed. That's the first time in several weeks he's been able to get up out of his wheelchair, even with help.

My brother told me that when he went to visit my dad the other day, that my dad seemed to be doing a little better, and that he was actually able to have a halfway decent conversation with him. It made me feel good to hear that. That part I didn't get to see while I was there, though he did seem more attentive than he had been, and was able to say a few words here and there in response to me, but I was thankful he was able to stand. That probably felt so good to my dad.

Who knows what might happen next time. All I can do is trust the Good Lord with everything, no matter what happens. He is in control, and it's all in His very capable hands.