My brother's passing

countmeworthy · 03-02-2015, 01:49 PM

Hi all,
February was quite the challenging month for me in more ways than one. Last Monday, my older brother passed away in a Ft Worth hospital after suffering two massive strokes. He was 64. I was there for almost 3 weeks.

As a kid, he could care less about me. As an adult, he could care less about me too until he took a job in Ft Worth away from his home state and family life in Grand Rapids Mi. For more than 15 years I have been praying for him and my family.

He took a job in 2008 and I was there for him every step of the way. I helped him settle down and bought a lot of things to help furnish his tiny apartment as well. His wife remained in Mi.

He would come to visit me monthly the first year and after that he would visit me here in San Antonio on holidays and on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

While I was a 'great sister' to him (his words and I WAS!) I did share my life story with him which included my salvation and my spiritual Journey. He had a lot of respect for me and got to know me for who I am. He decided he liked me even though he held on to his atheistic views.

Well... in December, after a short exchange of emails, I shared the gospel with him one last time. He wrote a scathing reply and told me "If God existed, He was a monster due to all the suffering of the world." I got really upset with him for how he spoke of MY GOD. Grant it, he did not actually say 'GOD was a monster'. He prefaced it with the word 'IF'. I did yell at the LORD and told Him I was through with my brother!! George would be in God's Hands from here on out and I was done with him!

On Feb 3, I received a call from my niece, his daughter that he was in serious condition at a hospital in Ft Worth. His feet were all purple and his legs hurt so much he could hardly walk. Turned out he had blood clots and during the first surgery, he suffered a stroke on the right side of his brain.

I drive up and was saddened to see him in ICU. He was confused much of the time but also had clarity of mind too. His passion was computers. As he was an IT computer engineer and thus much of his talk was computer jargon. He would ask us what the "IP address" was. He confused me with his daughter sometimes. His daughter is a super diehard atheist who would throw a hissy fit if God was mentioned.

The entire time he was there, he never wanted to watch TV btw. I prayed silently over him and when no one was around, I prayed audibly for him. A couple of the nurses and I prayed over him too.

Then one day, when no one was around, I asked him if he wanted to get well. He said yes. Not knowing if he would be receptive to praying, I asked him to say the following words: SPIRIT OF LIFE, SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON MY MIND, MY THOUGHTS, MY SOUL AND MY BODY. SPIRIT OF LIFE, SHINE YOUR LOVE AND YOUR LIGHT ON ME.

That is all I had him say and he did. Remember. Jesus did not use the same formula in reaching people. To the woman at the well, He did not tell her she needed to be 'born again' as He told Nicodemus. Neither did He condemn the adulterous woman whom the pharisees were ready to stone.

God is Spirit. God is Light. God is Life. God is Love ----->biblical!

I told my SIL that evening what he said/prayed. I got an earful for praying 'new agey'. (oh brother.)

So a few days go by. I am alone in the room with him again. He had a bad habit of dropping his pillow. So as I picked it up, I asked him what it was. He told me it was a Microsoft windows electronic devise.

I told him "no. It is a pillow.' NO IT'S NOT! he told me. IT IS A MICROSOFT WINDOWS ELECTRONIC DEVISE'. That stubborn personality of his sure came out! He pissed me off and so I went to sit down.

A few minutes later I was prompted to go up and pray over him. I did quietly and then I asked him if I could pray over him out loud. He said YES!

I did. I asked him if he would like to pray with me. Again he said YES.
WOW!
So I had him follow my lead with the following prayer:
Lord Jesus. I repent for rejecting You.
Lord Jesus. I surrender my life to You.
Lord Jesus. I give You my life.
Lord Jesus. Forgive me of all my sins.
Lord Jesus. Touch my mind. Touch my heart. Touch my soul.
Lord Jesus. Cleanse my soul with Your Precious Blood.
Lord Jesus. Come inside me and be my Lord and Savior.
Lord Jesus. Help me to love my wife as You Love her.
Lord Jesus. Help me to love my children as You love them.
Thank You Lord Jesus.

That is what he prayed with me. At no time did he tell me: I don't want to pray. At no time did he spew computer jargon. At no time did he fall asleep on me.

Minutes ago, he was adamant with me for telling him that what I was holding was a pillow not some electronic devise!

That evening, he went in for a second surgery. As he was being wheeled out, his wife said to him, "Georgie. I am praying for you". So am I, I said. I asked him if he remembered we prayed that afternoon. He nodded. I asked him if he remembered he received our Lord Jesus Christ. He again nodded.

At this time, his know it all daughter, blurted out: That was a dirty trick Carol! I went up to her face and said "I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.' His wife then said " This is not a time for this!"

I never told his daughter what we prayed but I did tell his wife. She did not say anything...no rejoicing ... no rebuking...

A couple of days later, he suffered a second massive stroke and no longer could he speak. The day before he passed away, he took his wife's hand and kissed it twice. He then turned to his daughter and brushed his hand against her cheek. (Remember the last words of the prayers: Lord Jesus help me to love my wife and my kids as You love them). My brother was not an expressive, emotional or affectionate person towards his family.

For me. It was a sign God heard our prayers!

I know that I know that I know George is with the LORD now and all his questions are being answered while receiving healing and drinking from the Fountain of Life....eating from the Tree of Life.

I would say "Vaya con Dios my brother." But He IS with Dios already !

My only beef is that he beat me to the THRONE ROOM!

Beam me up LORD!

Beam me up!
Come Lord Jesus. The Spirit and the Bride say "come".

Blessings all!
Carol

UntoHim · 03-02-2015, 04:28 PM

Thank you and bless you my dear sister Carol for this testimony. God's timing is always the best timing. Surely your brother is rejoicing in heaven with no regrets and and no tears.

For some reason I thought of Paul's word to Philemon (totally different situation but nevertheless I thought of it) : For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever (Philemon 1:15). In this case "for a while" was your brother's whole life...but now you have him back forever! Praise Him! I really hope and pray that now his wife, through witnessing all that has taken place, will have her heart softened towards the Gospel.

HERn · 03-02-2015, 08:10 PM

Dear Carol. I'm very sorry to hear of your brother's passing.

awareness · 03-02-2015, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HERn

Dear Carol. I'm very sorry to hear of your brother's passing.

Sis Carol,

Sorry for your loss. Happy for your gain ... and your brothers'. May the Lord be with his family, in their loss.

Harold

Ohio · 03-03-2015, 03:30 AM

Carol, thanks for sharing your story of God's love with us.

Boxjobox · 03-03-2015, 09:06 AM

Carol, thanks for sharing this. The sufferings you went through with your brother and the comfort and joy you received in your brother's heart turning strengthen all of us.

Grace be with you

Joe

03-02-2015, 01:49 PM	#1
countmeworthy Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: in Spirit & in Truth Posts: 1,363	My brother's passing Hi all, February was quite the challenging month for me in more ways than one. Last Monday, my older brother passed away in a Ft Worth hospital after suffering two massive strokes. He was 64. I was there for almost 3 weeks. As a kid, he could care less about me. As an adult, he could care less about me too until he took a job in Ft Worth away from his home state and family life in Grand Rapids Mi. For more than 15 years I have been praying for him and my family. He took a job in 2008 and I was there for him every step of the way. I helped him settle down and bought a lot of things to help furnish his tiny apartment as well. His wife remained in Mi. He would come to visit me monthly the first year and after that he would visit me here in San Antonio on holidays and on Thanksgiving or Christmas. While I was a 'great sister' to him (his words and I WAS!) I did share my life story with him which included my salvation and my spiritual Journey. He had a lot of respect for me and got to know me for who I am. He decided he liked me even though he held on to his atheistic views. Well... in December, after a short exchange of emails, I shared the gospel with him one last time. He wrote a scathing reply and told me "If God existed, He was a monster due to all the suffering of the world." I got really upset with him for how he spoke of MY GOD. Grant it, he did not actually say 'GOD was a monster'. He prefaced it with the word 'IF'. I did yell at the LORD and told Him I was through with my brother!! George would be in God's Hands from here on out and I was done with him! On Feb 3, I received a call from my niece, his daughter that he was in serious condition at a hospital in Ft Worth. His feet were all purple and his legs hurt so much he could hardly walk. Turned out he had blood clots and during the first surgery, he suffered a stroke on the right side of his brain. I drive up and was saddened to see him in ICU. He was confused much of the time but also had clarity of mind too. His passion was computers. As he was an IT computer engineer and thus much of his talk was computer jargon. He would ask us what the "IP address" was. He confused me with his daughter sometimes. His daughter is a super diehard atheist who would throw a hissy fit if God was mentioned. The entire time he was there, he never wanted to watch TV btw. I prayed silently over him and when no one was around, I prayed audibly for him. A couple of the nurses and I prayed over him too. Then one day, when no one was around, I asked him if he wanted to get well. He said yes. Not knowing if he would be receptive to praying, I asked him to say the following words: SPIRIT OF LIFE, SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON MY MIND, MY THOUGHTS, MY SOUL AND MY BODY. SPIRIT OF LIFE, SHINE YOUR LOVE AND YOUR LIGHT ON ME. That is all I had him say and he did. Remember. Jesus did not use the same formula in reaching people. To the woman at the well, He did not tell her she needed to be 'born again' as He told Nicodemus. Neither did He condemn the adulterous woman whom the pharisees were ready to stone. God is Spirit. God is Light. God is Life. God is Love ----->biblical! I told my SIL that evening what he said/prayed. I got an earful for praying 'new agey'. (oh brother.) So a few days go by. I am alone in the room with him again. He had a bad habit of dropping his pillow. So as I picked it up, I asked him what it was. He told me it was a Microsoft windows electronic devise. I told him "no. It is a pillow.' NO IT'S NOT! he told me. IT IS A MICROSOFT WINDOWS ELECTRONIC DEVISE'. That stubborn personality of his sure came out! He pissed me off and so I went to sit down. A few minutes later I was prompted to go up and pray over him. I did quietly and then I asked him if I could pray over him out loud. He said YES! I did. I asked him if he would like to pray with me. Again he said YES. WOW! So I had him follow my lead with the following prayer: Lord Jesus. I repent for rejecting You. Lord Jesus. I surrender my life to You. Lord Jesus. I give You my life. Lord Jesus. Forgive me of all my sins. Lord Jesus. Touch my mind. Touch my heart. Touch my soul. Lord Jesus. Cleanse my soul with Your Precious Blood. Lord Jesus. Come inside me and be my Lord and Savior. Lord Jesus. Help me to love my wife as You Love her. Lord Jesus. Help me to love my children as You love them. Thank You Lord Jesus. That is what he prayed with me. At no time did he tell me: I don't want to pray. At no time did he spew computer jargon. At no time did he fall asleep on me. Minutes ago, he was adamant with me for telling him that what I was holding was a pillow not some electronic devise! That evening, he went in for a second surgery. As he was being wheeled out, his wife said to him, "Georgie. I am praying for you". So am I, I said. I asked him if he remembered we prayed that afternoon. He nodded. I asked him if he remembered he received our Lord Jesus Christ. He again nodded. At this time, his know it all daughter, blurted out: That was a dirty trick Carol! I went up to her face and said "I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.' His wife then said " This is not a time for this!" I never told his daughter what we prayed but I did tell his wife. She did not say anything...no rejoicing ... no rebuking... A couple of days later, he suffered a second massive stroke and no longer could he speak. The day before he passed away, he took his wife's hand and kissed it twice. He then turned to his daughter and brushed his hand against her cheek. (Remember the last words of the prayers: Lord Jesus help me to love my wife and my kids as You love them). My brother was not an expressive, emotional or affectionate person towards his family. For me. It was a sign God heard our prayers! I know that I know that I know George is with the LORD now and all his questions are being answered while receiving healing and drinking from the Fountain of Life....eating from the Tree of Life. I would say "Vaya con Dios my brother." But He IS with Dios already ! My only beef is that he beat me to the THRONE ROOM! Beam me up LORD! Beam me up! Come Lord Jesus. The Spirit and the Bride say "come". Blessings all! Carol __________________ Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be *accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass,* and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36)

03-02-2015, 04:28 PM	#2
UntoHim Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον For God So Loved The World Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,797	Re: My brother's passing Thank you and bless you my dear sister Carol for this testimony. God's timing is always the best timing. Surely your brother is rejoicing in heaven with no regrets and and no tears. For some reason I thought of Paul's word to Philemon (totally different situation but nevertheless I thought of it) : *For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever* (Philemon 1:15). In this case "for a while" was your brother's whole life...but now you have him back forever! Praise Him! I really hope and pray that now his wife, through witnessing all that has taken place, will have her heart softened towards the Gospel. __________________ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν - 1 Peter 5:11

03-02-2015, 08:10 PM	#3
HERn Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 960	Re: My brother's passing Dear Carol. I'm very sorry to hear of your brother's passing.

03-03-2015, 03:30 AM	#5
Ohio Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Greater Ohio Posts: 13,663	Re: My brother's passing Carol, thanks for sharing your story of God's love with us. __________________ Ohio's motto is: With God all things are possible!. Keeping all my posts short, quick, living, and to the point!

03-03-2015, 09:06 AM	#6
Boxjobox Moderated Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 829	Re: My brother's passing Carol, thanks for sharing this. The sufferings you went through with your brother and the comfort and joy you received in your brother's heart turning strengthen all of us. Grace be with you Joe