0052

My wonderful grandfather, Eddie Morris, passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. My mom has had the blessing to spend this last week of his life right at his bedside in Tulsa, OK. When he passed away last night, we knew instantly that someone else was in the room with them- Victoria. For those of you who have seen one of my previous posts, 52 was Vic's favorite number and it is a number that I see ALL the time, in random and sometimes significant occasions. My mom's continual prayer while my grandpa had been sick was to be able to be with him when he went to Heaven, which was something that she did not get to share with Victoria. Well, God is good! I wanted to share with you the story my mom shared with all of us via email this morning when we woke up.
"The past few days I've been part of a bedside vigil of my dying father. We were told he could die any moment last week. My brother woke me up up last night for my turn to be with him. I was so grateful to be with Dad, as I wanted to see him go to to heaven, a chance I didn't have with Victoria but where I knew Victoria was waiting for him. I had been up many nights already and was exhausted so I put my head down, with my hand on his heart. I don't know how long I stayed that way, but suddenly I realized his heart had stopped beating. I looked up and Dad wasn't breathing. I was overcome, thinking I had missed Dad going to heaven, when suddenly his heart beat again. I called the nurses station and my mother and brother. His heart beat once more for us all and he was gone. Dad's time of death was 12:52 a.m. I later told the nurse about losing Victoria. I explained that Victoria's favorite number was 52 and was on her grave marker. I knew Victoria was with Dad when he died. The nurse with tears in her eyes said, We recorded your Dad's time of death in military time, 0052."
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of life and we continue to praise you even in the passing of life. You continue to console us beyond our deserving, and I thank you for the gift you gave us, especially my mom, last night when Grandpa passed away at 12:52am to be with you in Heaven. It's a small detail, but we find much consolation in it and in knowing that his suffering is over, and he is with you and Victoria watching over us. I love you. I love you Grandpa. I love you Victoria. Please help me to love greater and serve others more so that I can be with you for Eternity.