Losing a father

This past month could be described with so many adjectives: hard, sad, encouraging, growing, exhausting, and meaningful.

One month ago we found out that my wife’s father had stage IV liver cancer. We immediately decided that we should fly to Thailand to spend time with him, not knowing how long he would have before the cancer would take his life. A few days later we left with one-way tickets, not having much of a plan beyond getting there as soon as possible to support him and spend whatever precious time left we had with him.

The following weeks were a blur: sleeping in hospital rooms, meeting with doctors, and trying to make the most of our time at my father-in-law’s bedside. As it became clear that he probably only had a few weeks left, we began to discuss what it would look like for us to stay with him to the end.

Almost one month after learning that he had cancer, Saritha’s father breathed his last breath.

The following days were another blur of his funeral (a 3-day Buddhist funeral, per his request) and trying to process all the emotions of what had just happened so quickly.

In the midst of our grief, God’s grace was overwhelmingly evident to us through the loving support of our community: our church, my family, and our friends both near and far. Saritha and I have talked about how a crisis like this can bring out the best in people or the worst in people.

We are so grateful for the ways that we experienced the best of people through the innumerable prayers and acts of service that we received from so many friends. We thank you all with our whole heart.