Tampa in May

I'm going to start this entry by going back in time to the month of July, 2010. This is when events began in our lives that would forever shape and change us. The timing for all of these events would soon line up perfectly. Some might say this would be a coincidence, but not us.

To begin: In July, Scott and I decided that it was time to makeadababy. We were not expecting it to happen so quickly, but it did. Pretty much immediately. Knowing many dear friends who are struggling with conception, I say this almost in a bittersweet way. I knew that we were among the lucky, but this was the EXACT time that was ordained for us. We now know why.

Right before I went into labor, Scott's father went into the hospital. (Jim DeVore was diagnosed with Wegener's disease back in 2003. For information on this, you can check out this site: Information on Wegeners.) Jim has occasional Wegeners flareups which have recently required more hospital visits and was in the hospital for several weeks prior to our due date. This meant that neither he nor Scott's mother were able to fly up to NYC for Mac's birth.

Scott's mother Linda posted on Facebook about it saying: "I love April. My roses and lilies are blooming, and days are breezy, sunny, and beautiful, punctuated by wonderful thunderstorms. And after a hospitalized March of sepsis, emergency splenectomy, VTach, and defibrillator, Jim is home to enjoy April with me."

Because of this, we decided that once our son was born and given the clearance to fly, we would head down to Tampa to show him off properly and introduce him to his grandparents DeVore and the rest of our family who love him so much. We got the OK from the baby Dr. and away we went with our 6 1/2 week-old baby on a plane. He flew like a pro. If only we all could have a giant comfy lap to sleep on for our plane rides....

Let it be said that we have never traveled to Tampa in May. We usually visit for Christmas only. The sole reason for our visit was to show off our new baby boy. Our plan was to stay for two weeks and then head back to New York to begin our search for a new apartment (we are moving in a couple of weeks to a bigger place with a little more space for playing and crawling.)

Our two weeks in Florida was spent almost entirely with our families. We usually try to spend time with as many of our friends as we can when we are in Florida, but this time, neither one of us had any desire to do so. We saw almost everyone that we loved at once during MacPherson's Tampa baby shower at the DeVore's home, and it was wonderful.

The remaining days were solely spent with Buckmasters or DeVores. The final event is a rather simple one, but it would have the most effect on this story. Two nights before we were scheduled to leave, we went out to an evening movie with my brother David and his wife Kallie. They live in Lakeland which is about a 45min drive from N. Tampa where Scott's parents live. Because of this, on the evening of May the 27th, we did not get home until late and therefore were later in getting MacPherson to bed.

In Tampa we had usually gone to sleep around 9pm. This evening, God needed us awake at a later time. Around 11:15pm, as I was rocking our son to sleep and feeding him one last time, we noticed a light come on in the hallway. Some time later we noticed the light still on so Scott decided to get up to get us a drink and turn off the light, and that's when he discovered his father who had had a stroke in his home office in the next room. For me the world seemed to stand still. Scott woke up his mother and tended to his father. 911 was immediately called while they stayed with him assessing his condition.

Throughout the night at the hospital his body grew weaker and weaker and he suffered a massive heart attack. This would be the end of his life here on earth. All those years of dangerous, risky, harmful and necessary medicines to treat this rare disease had taken their toll. As he lay breathing his lasts, the entire family was there, even his 87 year old mother Janet. Shortly after, James Antrim DeVore Jr. entered into the gates of Heaven.

So many small details which seemed insignificant at the time all lead up to one much larger, God-drawn picture. Jim DeVore was suffering. We all knew his time was going to come sooner rather than later. If we had to have picked a time for his pain to end, it would've been in a situation such as this, when all of his sons could be present and when help would be called in the moment it occurred. We try not to even let our minds comprehend what would have happened to Jim had Scott not immediately been by his side. That would have been a horrible evening of waiting and pain and suffering for Jim, and an unthinkable morning for his wife Linda and the family. God knew. God is good. He was faithful to all involved. He made it easy for a faithful humble servant man to come home to his great reward.

I leave you with an encouragement, or at least I hope to: On Jim's office door hangs a plaque containing part of a verse from the book of Isaiah in the Bible. It simply reads "The Lord will guide thee continually." The verse goes on to read "he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your bones. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."  Today, Jim's bones  have been strengthened. He will never know pain again. His heavenly body will never fail him as his earthly one had for so many years here on earth.

My sweet friends, remember that even when you do not see His hand, it's there. Guiding you even in the most mundane bits of life. You may not believe but he is still there, waiting, watching, loving you. He has a perfect plan for us all. And I am thankful.