Doing what God's prepared me to do

I didn't notice it until this week, but it appears that God has been preparing for these moments most of my life.

I was raised in a culture that valued the elderly and in which the family unit stayed together. In the Filipino culture multiple generations lived together, at times in the same house, with the grandparents assisting in raising the grand kids with the younger generations caring for the grandparents. I have vivid memories of being with my Filipino friends and helping them do tasks for their grandparents etc.

Though only in grade school, I observed both my grandparents, parents and aunts and uncles care for my great grandmother who in spite of a stroke or two lived to be a hundred and something years old.

I also observed my parents, aunts and uncles care for my grandfather when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. That was followed by watching my parents, aunts and uncles care for my grandmother as she suffered from poor health.

Through Pastor Young's preaching through the Timothy's, one of the last messages series he preached at Grace, God made it clear to Beth and me that we needed to apply Paul's instructions to Timothy for us to care for our family.

Though I didn't see it at the time, the progression is clear to me today. And as I've visited Dad in the hospital over the past week, on more than one occasion, as I've been feeding him or making conversation with him, the thought that's crossed my mind is, "This is why I am here and what I'm supposed to be doing." I didn't take notes as I watched my parents, aunts and uncles care for our extended family, but somehow I'm recalling what I observed and applying it in caring for my Dad. It's truly God's work that I can recall what they did, let alone have the grace and patience to apply it. Our motivation is solely out of obedience to what Beth and I feel God has called us to do.

Until God directs otherwise, this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now and it's something God's been preparing me for over most of my lifetime.