The only safe place

2:27 p.m. Today's project was to help Steve's back to heal and nurse him through a bout with a touchy stomach.

The back ache began on Wednesday, with no known cause. His back just "went out." I helped set him up with alternating hot and cold pads, as our trainer son Steven prescribes, and that brought limited relief. He took Advil every few hours as well. Then Heidi remembered another back pain tip: lie down on your back with pillows under bent knees. Steve spent several hours resting upstairs in that position, actually sound asleep. When he got up, he was still bent over at the middle, so we went back to the heat/cold routine. Friends were joining us in prayer, too. By Thursday, he was walking a bit straighter, but not yet ready to walk his usual 2 1/2 miles up- and downhill with the dogs. Jada had made it out of her apparently-unlocked crate overnight Wednesday, gobbling some candy corn and stale cookies, so the dogs were getting stir-crazy--missing their master and howling for their 3 p.m. walk! So the Lord gave me a good idea.

The Holy Spirit is the Source of all of a believer's good ideas, creativity and plans--I am so grateful every day for His intervention and inspiration! Recall Acts 8:29, where the Spirit directs Philip to witness to an Ethiopian eunuch in the desert of Gaza. Philip came upon this high officer of Queen Candace's court reading the book of Isaiah. "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot.' " Philip obeyed, brought the man to salvation and bapatized him then and there! Then verse 39 tells us that "The Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing."

The Holy Spirit definitely speaks to believers today, not necessarily with amazingly dramatic results, but so that we might obey God in matters large and small.

The need for Steve to get in some active interaction with the dogs was getting serious, so I took a folding chair out to the patio and placed a clean rolled up area rug for his back, and voila! He could sit and throw Jada and Bailey the ball for at least an hour. They were very excited and he got some fresh air, too. He's back out there again today!

We had another issue come up during the early morning hours today as well. I heard the beep of Steve's C-pap breathing machine turning off, so I rolled over and said, "Turn that back on, please," without even waking up, probably. He said he felt sick, so he removed the mask and went to our bathroom. But he just had a serious pain in his stomach that has tapered off somewhat today, but hasn't caused any "outpourings." I prayed and gave him some Tums along with a light breakfast of cornbread, and some slices of rye toast for lunch, but his appetite is very low. I'm hoping we can attend the Calvary Chapel Christian School's presentation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" this evening that we've already bought tickets for.

I can't help but think that some of the stomach upset may be connected to his brother's death on Wednesday, which we haven't spent a ton of time talking about, just sporadically as his sister calls, or I show him the Facebook posts of our nephews and other family members.

Just now, I asked him if his stomach pain had to do with Larry's death, and he said, "Yes." I asked him what he was thinking about mostly, and he said, "How many weeks or months do I have left?" Ministering to my husband as best I could, I said, "What happened to Larry is very different from what your situation is with Alzheimer's. And you are four years younger. " I told him that I could relate, because when a friend who was expecting her baby at the same time as Heather was due, had a shocking placenta previa stillbirth at 8-1/2 months, for a while I thought it would happen to me, too. But God showed me He has a different plan for each of us.

I added, "What if you (or I) die in a car accident, or of cancer? It may not even be Alzheimer's that takes your life. We have to trust the Lord."

My prayer is that both of us, and our children, arrive at that place of trust, no matter what tragedies happen to our loved ones.

It's the only safe place.