Category Archives: Disease and dying

Hi Midge: from Birgitta

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As my children continue to weigh in on how they’re missing their father, below are a few thoughts from our youngest. Although Birgitta is 22 now, she was still a teenager when her father died, and because of that she’s grieved in a way different from the other six. Not knowing anyone else her age whose father had died made for a unique sense of isolation as she tried to adjust.

Here is her response to my recent inquiry about the 3rd anniversary of Nate’s death:

Hi, Midge,

Thanks for your email. I appreciate your sensitivity to us and how we’re dealing with Papa’s death, even 3 years later.

I think my grieving has progressed from dwelling on regrets and loss to appreciating the man Papa was and all the blessings he left us with. Of course there are still sad, difficult days, and I always think of November 3rd as one of them.

Papa feels especially distant this year, and I think my having a baby has been a big part of that. My whole life has been reshaped by Emerald, and he has been gone since long before her arrival. I think this is a very difficult and lasting consequence of losing a loved one. I don’t, however, want to discount his presence in my heart and mind as I’ve gone through and continue to experience life-changing moments.

I want to find a healthy balance between living in a world without Papa’s physical presence while carrying him with me in other ways. I think Papa’s absence has also led me to seek out a father/daughter relationship with God. And that is a continual process just like dealing with Papa’s absence is. I also think it has made me more aware and appreciative of all the relationships in my life. There’s a lot to be thankful for.

As you said, God has blessed our family exponentially. And He will continue to! Love you, Midge.

Love, Britt

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God deals with every individual one-on-one, because every set of circumstances and responses is unique. I’m especially thankful for this quality in the Lord, since grieving is such a personal thing with each person requiring a different form of tender help from him.

Hearing from my children as we begin another year without Nate has been a comfort to me, especially seeing how God has partnered with them along the bumpy way. As our heavenly Father steadily assures us through his Word, He is very near.

“[God] is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:27-28)

 

 

 

 

Hi, Mom: from Hans

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We [son Hans and his family of 5, living in England] remembered Papa on Saturday evening, ordering in dinner, and chatting about that evening three years ago when he left us on earth and went home to Christ. For his arrival in Heaven we are grateful and are looking forward to seeing him again when our time comes, but in his absence from the earth, we miss him very much.

Like I said to you on the phone the other day, I long to be able to exchange thoughts and words with him more and more as I cope with walking by faith, working to support my family, and being the head of a household. I admire what he did as a father and the many sacrifices he made for us, and the care he displayed to us all.

I think of him in little things – like when we got little Fizzy, our precious feline, and the way he used to like putting hats on our cats and dressing them up! I think of him when we are getting everybody suited up for church each week, or when I come home from work in the evening and greet my little family.

I remarked to Kate the other day that the smell of Johnsons baby shampoo brought back strong memories of Papa for some reason. When I thought about it, I realized it was because he did our bath-time routine, just like I do with my kids, and I still connect the smell to him from that time.

I recall many memories of my father as I ‘go through’ these experiences on the other end, as the Dad. I recall how big his hands seemed when he signed something for us for school, and the loud laugh so completely his own, such a wonderful trademark of his. All my friends would always smile when they heard it for the first time, and every time after that. It was impossible not to join in when he started!

All my friends took a liking to Papa. He would take an interest in them and ask intelligent questions (sometimes too intelligent) and was non-judgmental, accepting even the rag-tag characters who stumbled through the door with us.

I found a note from Papa just last week, God’s timing:

It says, “Written on airplane, 4 – 13 – 09, Hans + Katy + Nicholas – Thanks so much for the airport run and the coffee and the baggage handling. It means a great deal to me. You have that blessed little treasure Nicholas. And bless you for dedicating him to Christ! You are doing life correctly! Our stay was absolutely wonderful! You and all the Mills are great hosts! Love, Papa/Nate.”

What a wonderful encouragement to read that from Papa these 3½ years later. The airport run, and coffee at Costa (Nelson, Papa, and me) as we awaited his departure flight, and baggage handling (because his back was troubling him).

This was the last time I saw Papa until he was close to the end of his life. He was classic Papa, and Nels and I sat with him at the coffee shop for a while, just chatting before his flight. I recall Nels remarked that it seemed a poignant time, because usually Papa was pushing the schedule forward, but on that occasion he was uncharacteristically laid back. When we kept suggesting it was maybe time to go, he’d say we had a little more time.

We love you and are thankful to have you,

Hans, Kate, Nick, Tom, and Evelyn

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“He who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.” (Proverbs 23:24)

Three Years Ago

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Rather than write a blog about the 3rd anniversary of Nate’s death (Nov. 3), I’ve decided to post the email I sent to my children yesterday.

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Hi, Everyone…

As the 3rd anniversary of Papa’s death arrives again, I’m wondering how you all are doing and would love to hear from you. I know some of you are deeply affected by this date and others may not have even realized what day it was. And that shows how differently we’ve all dealt with (and continue to deal with) our grief. There is no right or wrong way, no assigned finish date.

Each night when I go to sleep I wonder if maybe I might dream about Papa and have a “visit” with him. But there have been only 3 occasions in 3 years when that’s happened, and dream-visits always have to end with the harsh realization that he’s far, far away. He’s completely inaccessible to me, to all of us, and sometimes that still hurts badly.

His absence has increased my longing for heaven and our reunion there. I remember Grandpa Johnson once saying, at the funeral of another good friend of his, “Well, my friends are pretty much gone now.” He outlived all of them, dying at 92, and was well aware that life as he knew it was “narrowing.” More and more of the people he loved had already taken up residence in heaven, and he knew he would go soon, too. But being sure of his salvation, he had a calm, peaceful acceptance of God’s choice of timing.

That timing is sort of mysterious, and often we’ve got lots of questions that never get answers, especially about disease and dying. We get impatient to know the “why’s” but of course God doesn’t owe us any answers. My morning devotional book (by Spurgeon) has a good entry for November 3. Part of it, which I read each year, says: “The Lord will keep his appointments. He never is before his time; he never is behind.” Our instructions are to cooperate with God’s timing on every level, which sometimes includes the deaths of those we love. I don’t know why Papa had to die when he did, but I do know he died on the exact day God had planned for it to happen, for reasons he hasn’t shared with us.

As for me, I’m following the instructions of Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on Thee.”  This verse is hanging on our sunroom wall as a good reminder of how to get through stuff. It’s a plaster plaque that came from Grandpa and Grandma’s house.

God has blessed the Nyman family exponentially, both before and after Papa’s death, and according to Scripture, his good gifts will continue. There’s no greater blessing than new life (which includes new life in Christ), and just think of it: 5 new family members born to us in these last 3 years. God has absolutely showered us with goodness!

(BTW, I believe Papa is in on all of it, with a perspective that’s far superior to ours.)

So today we’re remembering, and we all miss him a lot. I have to say I love him more now than I ever did.

Lotsa love to all of you, too!
Mom/Marni/Grandma Midgee/MeeMee

“My soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:5-6)