And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:7 (NIV)

Describe a time when the peace of God helped you through a stressful situation.

For me it was the day my dad died.  I had moved home to care for him and my mom who had been very sick that year.  He was in the hospital an hour from their home so it meant daily long car rides between the CICU where dad was after a heart infection and then a stroke and my mom who was back home.  I would listen to Christian music on the radio and talk to God each day while I drove each way.  The day I knew Dad was going to die was a very cold early November morning.  I left in the dark and started to drive south.  I was crying and asking God to help me because I knew I had to sign the papers to take him off life support, I had medical power of attorney for both of my parents.  I asked God to let me know that I was doing the right thing about a 100 times while I drove south.  And boy did He show up that morning.  The sun came up about half way there, and it was spectacular that day.  Pinks, blues, yellowy- orange… and the clouds were amazing, they were rows of wispy angel wings like I had never seen before.  I pulled to the side and sat looking at the sky and I felt a peace come over me.  It was God telling me that it would be ok, He was there and I could do this.  So I dried my eyes and drove on. 

 

When I got there, I parked in the familiar lot, same place I usually parked on the weekend, and walked inside.  I talked to the head nurse and he told me there was no hope, Dad had crashed during the night and he could not breathe alone anymore.  So I gathered my brothers and extended family, they brought mom and we said good bye.  I signed the papers, stood back and let them all spend time with Dad.  I had been there the whole month, we had a long good bye during those many hours the two of us were alone before the stroke, watching golf on the golf channel, and talking about the Packers season which at the time was not great (they won the Super bowl later that season), and then watching him sleep after the stroke, hours which turned into days and weeks of peaceful sleep for Dad.

I was stoic and strong that awful day.  I would not wish the task of signing that kind of paperwork on anyone.   Many people have asked me how I got through all of that and I often said I just did what I had to do.  But I also said, I had God with me, and that meant I was able to do the impossible.    He gave me peace that passes all understanding and he guarded my heart that day. And we grieved together later, when it was over and I was alone with God on the long drive back home.