[Leslie McCabe, October 31, 2020]

Saturday morning I woke up to a text from Brandon...  “Did yesterday really happen?” None of us can believe it.  Dad was in the hospital for exactly one month.  10.30.20 will be a date we never forget.  Papa always said when it was his time, he wanted to go quickly.  While the last month has been a roller coaster of emotions, we are all thankful for God’s perfect timing.  We needed this month, especially the last 2 weeks, to be able to let him go.

We set up this site to keep everyone updated but also to allow our friends and family to join our prayers for a miracle.  We are overwhelmed by the Lord’s gracious answer to our pleas.  The doctors told us Papa’s lungs weren’t improving and he would likely survive on the ventilator for several more weeks .  We were confident this was not what Papa would have wanted but were struggling with the thought of taking him off the  vent, so we continued to ask the Lord for clarity.

Friday at 7:15am, Mom got a call from the nurse at who said his blood pressure was dropping and we needed to come right away. When we arrived and the doctor came in, she said, “I don’t know what happened last night” and went on to explain his body was shutting down.

WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!  Not even the machines that are life-saving can keep God from fulfilling his plans.  God’s timing - not ours.  Mom, Brandon, and I were given one more hour with him... we prayed, shared what we were thankful for, and listened to music and hymns.  We cried a lot but laughed some too!  The end of this journey was  perfectly planned...

One of the last verses of Psalms 23 is “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”  The goodness and love are felt by the sheep because the shepherd tends so perfectly to them.  The sheep in return are confident in and assured of the unconditional, sacrificial love of their shepherd.  It’s a beautiful relationship.  Papa had an unusual way of sharing goodness and love with everyone he met.  He knew intimately the love of his heavenly Shepherd.  May goodness and love be Papa’s legacy and our prayer is you all will know the Lord as your Shepherd as well.

Attached is picture from one of our hikes in Colorado several years ago.  It was a steep hike with lots of switchbacks.  Papa, Mimi, and Hayes were a little behind us.  The rest of the grandkids had the idea to make a bridge for them to run through when they made it to the top.  I absolutely love the image of the celebration and Papa’s face is unforgettable.  Well done Papa, you are “dwelling in the house of the Lord forever”!!!

Thank you all so much!