God and My Journey with Jasmine

The previous post closed with the epitaph on Jasmine’s urn, “Her heart of surrender left an imprint on the hearts of others.” Her journey through COVID and death brought out the breadth of the imprint that she had on the hearts of others—from high school friends to neighbors, to friends from [...]

Throughout this journey, I shared things about Jasmine with those who prayed for her. I shared about her spiritual transformation as she grew in her faith . . . her outgrowth of love for God and for people. Even as her husband who knew her most intimately, my words are inadequate [...]

God did not choose to raise Jasmine up by the miracle for which we all prayed. He made it clear that His will was to call her home at the exact time of His choosing, and on September 8, 2021, at 12:09 p.m., Jasmine heard Jesus say, “Come,” and she ran [...]

Moving from the ICU to inpatient hospice care, the atmosphere in her room was peaceful. No more whirling sounds of the ventilator or beeps from monitors. The only sound was the cadence of Jasmine’s weak breaths as she transitioned to breathe on her own. God sustained her long enough to enable [...]

My visit with Jasmine the next night was the most difficult. For over two hours the medical team had difficulty stabilizing her and when I finally left, well beyond visiting hours, she still was not at a comfortable place. I witnessed her oxygen level drop from 92% (which is okay) down [...]

Everyone had been cautiously praying for baby steps forward because for someone in Jasmine’s condition, recovery is very slow. We were encouraged by the improvement of her lungs over the past few days. After overcoming the initial shock of hearing that her condition was terminal, I asked, "What now, God?" As [...]

The medical team took steps to wean Jasmine off the ventilator and after a few unsuccessful attempts, she began showing signs of improvement. Hallelujah, she was turning the corner! The procedures were progressing well except for one concern. They had discontinued all sedation, but Jasmine wasn’t “waking up” as they had [...]

As God humbled me, He gave me new lenses to see the purity of Jasmine’s heart that fueled her passionate love for God and love for people. God showed me what He saw in her—a heart like Christ. Jesus’ heart was to reach the lost; He spoke the truth knowing that [...]

One night after the nurses and technicians had difficulty stabilizing Jasmine, I left the hospital with angst in my gut. My spirit was troubled. I felt like I was driving the 48-mile journey home on autopilot. Then a clear thought emerged from the fogginess of my mind: There are three ways [...]

The blind turns on the Road to Hana compel the driver to remain vigilant, but there is more along the way. Remember the bridges? There are times when you just need to park, get out of the vehicle, and stand on a bridge to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation—the waterfalls, [...]

When God said, “Surrender Jasmine to Me,” I wrestled with that for several days. Could He take her home to Heaven? Yes, He could. Did He have the power to raise her up from the hospital bed and heal her completely? Yes, He did, and I still believed that He would. [...]

Jasmine and I lived surrendered to God, allowing Christ to live in and through us (Galatians 2:20). As I continually prayed for Jasmine’s healing, like the psalmist, I asked God to search my heart for anything that needed to change (Psalm 139:23-24). His response to me was, “Surrender Jasmine to Me.” [...]

If you have ever driven the Road to Hana on the northeast coastline of Maui, Hawaii, then you can relate to what our journey was like. The Road to Hana has 617 hairpin turns and 59 one-lane bridges. Carefully navigating this narrow winding road for 64 miles creates constant tension for [...]

Amid the chaos, the ER doctor pulled me aside and said, “We gotta do this,” and he gave me a hug that said, “I know what you’re feeling. I’m with you.” It was the same doctor who examined me two days earlier (I was also diagnosed with COVID) and broke protocol [...]

The hospital room was in chaos! Jasmine was gasping for air! The EMT shouted, “Her oxygen level is showing 47%! I’m not transporting her at 47%! Six days earlier, on August 4, 2021, our daughter, Rhapsody, took Jasmine to a small ER hospital in Burleson, Texas, a town south of Fort [...]