Prayer Request

I ask for prayer from my blogging buddies tonight and in the days ahead. My sweet 82 yr old. grandmother was taken to the hospital this past sunday and today the family was told to come in. Her battle with alzheimer's is slowly coming to an end after about 12 yrs now. The doctor says it could be 1 day to a week, only God knows. I just ask for prayer that this precious lady not endure anymore suffering than she already has. I thought I was prepared for this day, but no matter the situation, you cannot prepare for this. I walked into the hospital, thinking she would be peacefully asleep, I was so wrong. She has fluid building up in her lungs and is so weak that she cannot cough to help, nor can she talk, try as she may, she can't do it. She grasps our hands tightly and doesn't want to let go. I wanted to tell her " It's okay, you don't have to fight it anymore". Even suctioning only helps for a small amount of time, then it gets worse. I couldn't hold back the tears watching her struggle to breath and trying to clear her throat and on top of that trying to speak. I just kept praying that the Lord would end this battle for her, no matter how much of my heart is not wanting her to go, I don't want to see the suffering any longer. She has truly been a fighter through this terrible disease. Please pray for my grandfather as he is losing his wife of over 60 something yrs, I cannot think right now the correct yrs. He has demonstrated to our family what a marriage should be till the end. It is just breaking his heart to watch this process and it breaks mine even more to watch him. Someone said the other day " It is not how you start out in a marriage, it is how you end it" I believe this to be true. I have sat today and cried watching my grandfather stroke mamaw's hair and tell her how much he loves her, how beautiful she is, how pretty her blue eyes are, and so on. I wish just once she could get out what she is trying to say. I wanted to tell papaw that I think she is telling him how much she loves him and for taking such great care of her at their home these last yrs. He has been her comfort, her security, her strength. She was reaching for him when he got out of her sight and pointing up at him. He knows the time has come and will let go so she doesn't suffer any more. He kept saying tonight " Why did the Lord let her go through this, she is such a good person" I wanted to reach out so bad and tell him, "It isn't like that, we suffer in this life because of sin and our downfall, it has nothing to do with our goodness, none of us are "good" in God's eyes" Only b/c of His mercy and grace are we saved. But, he can't hear good, and it wasn't the time or place. I have the assurance that both my grandparents are saved and I will see her again. I find comfort in knowing she will be with Jesus soon, we can envy that can't we ( to an extent anyway) ? No more tears, no more pain, her body will be new and her memory restored. Thank You Jesus!! That doesn't mean it doesn't help right now. I did get to hear how my grandmother helped lead my papaw to Christ. As she was being tended to, we (papaw, my brother, and myself) had to step out of the room. Sitting in the hallway, our conversation turned to the Lord. My grandfather was saved at 24yrs old after already fighting in WWII and being married. My grandmother went to church by herself and some others started questioning about her husband. He said " I am going to chuch to show them you do have a husband, and the rest is history" My grandfather was a bit of a rounder in his early days, and my grandmother turned that around. I got to hear some other things too. I am grateful for the time we had tonight, just us, in the hallway. My grandmother is the sweetest lady I know. I have been blessed for 31 yrs to have her in my life. Never, ever, have I heard her say a bad word about anyone and she didn't like it when others talked bad about people. How many of us can say that we have never downed anyone? Not me, I am so guilty of that and should be on my knees more for that. I have so many wonderful memories of her - I want share them, but you get the picture. She is a crafty, gifted, artsy, lady. She could sew and make anything. I regret I never took the time to learn this from her. I would give anything now to go back and learn to sew with her. She is a doll collector and loved it! She has tons of dolls in her house and even passed some on to me over the yrs. She is very fashionable, always perfectly dressed and coordinated. She loves her 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren more than anything. She is the best wife, mother, and grandmother any family would want. I Thank God for allowing me to be hers. My grandfather still tells of how I cried to stay with them and especially over night and I have fond memories of my overnight visits or anytime at their house. I slept in the bed with my grandmother, and boy did I think she was it. I still do!! So, as her time on earth is coming to an end, if you think about it please pray for my family, as it will be extremely difficult for us to go through this time. Please lift up my grandfather - this will be so hard on him. He even told me tonight that he still reaches over in their bed for her at night thinking she is laying there. You see, she has been in a hospital bed in the living room for quite sometime now, and he gets up during the night to go check on her. It is hard to see a love story come to an end, but it is a great one and one with many memories to share and talk about as the yrs go on.