When I was

growing up in our family, there were certain issues that would certainly

spark discussion. If one mentioned the words "nursing home,"

it was unspoken but understood that our family values would, to the best

of our ability, not let that happen. "To the best of our ability"

really meant "no way." In other words, we might discuss one

another and even disagree with each other but the family was loyal to

each other and that loyalty meant we would take care of each other no

matter what.

If one wanted

to get into a strong red-faced "discussion," one needed to take

the side of the argument that "someday that might just be necessary."

But deep down inside, we knew that until the last breath, with the enemy

swarming over the top, we would hold out in opposition to that theory.

Those ideas and values were comfortable to me because we were always a

family that looked to God and our faith background for answers to life.

We prayed over

a lot of issues. We would pray when we got up in the morning with, "this

is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

We unashamedly would bow our heads and thank Almighty God for our food,

whether it be in our home or in a crowded public restaurant. This was

always accompanied by us holding hands in the process. It's really great

to turn a public restaurant into a glorious prayer meeting. Ha! I love

to give the ACLU some battleground issues along with all their other "ash

heap of history" ideas they come up with to "help America find

its way!"

We would pray

when we took a trip for "journey's mercies." We prayed when

we took the hundreds of tests in school. We prayed for our country and

its leadership. We prayed for the souls of mankind when tragedy struck,

that through the tragedy people would somehow find Christ. We prayed for

the Church universally that they (we) would keep our focus on Christ and

to make the main things the plain things.

We knew that

in every friendship and relationship we had with friends in the secular

world, that the friendship or relationship should somehow, be used to

share Christ. We learned that without Christ our brothers and sisters

were what the Bible stated "lost." That wasn't our idea; it

was what God's Word said.

I am sharing

all this to frame a reference to the nursing home. In the near future

we will be having to make a decision for a relative who needs this care.

These decisions, as with all the other important decisions of our family,

will not be done in a prayerless vacuum.

There may come

a time when all that we know to be right will come into question in some

very hard decisions of life like the nursing home scenario. This happened

with both my mother and my father. It came when absolutely all avenues

had been explored and tried. It finally came down to the decision that

we no longer could provide the best care for them in the home and to keep

them there was becoming detrimental to their health. Yet when those prayerful

sad decisions were finally made, God was there to sustain and pick up

the pieces.

Most of this

"anguish" may sound unimportant or even silly to some, but if

you had a very close family with strong values in these areas, these were

and are tough decisions. After they went to be with the Lord, two things

sustained us all. The first was a strong faith in the sovereignty of God.

This was expressed in that scripture about that "peace that passes

all understanding." This peace was really wonderful.

It reminded

me of the Children of Israel wondering for 40 years in the search for

the Promised Land when they ran out of food. You know the story: Moses

prayed and God sent the manna for them to eat. There was something very

special about the manna. As you remember from Sunday School, they only

were allowed to gather the manna for one days use. If they gathered more

it spoiled.

This is the

way for me that "the peace that passes all understanding" is.

It was and is for me, just enough for that particular day, that particular

situation. You can't store it up, but it is always there and never late.

I ask for your

prayers as we make these lifelong family decisions once again. We will

once again, hold hands, in faith believing, and petition Heaven. It is

what our faith has taught us to do.

The Rev.

Dr. Knox Herndon is pastor of His House Community Church (SBC). The Rev.

Greg Mausz is senior associate pastor. The Rev. Dr. Lydia Herndon is the

Sunday School superintendent, Bible study coordinator and teacher. The

church is just below Fayetteville, on Ga. Highway 85, a mile south of

Ga. Highway 16, just below the fire station. Visitors welcome. Church

office and prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected]. The church's

new Web site is www.hishousecommunitychurch.com.

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