Article October 15, 2012 Issue

Our Father's care for my dad

Roxa Van Dyck

When I was a young wife with a home, a family, and a teaching job, my father, who lived many miles away in Florida, needed some help. I flew down to see what I could do and found my dad had been placed, after surgery, in a crowded, unappealing recovery facility to recuperate. As I entered the room, my dad was overjoyed to see me but pleaded, “Get me out of here!” I tried to comfort him and assure him we would find a better situation, but he wanted a solution now.

When I was growing up, my mother, who was a devoted Christian Scientist, assured me that my Father-Mother God was there to care for me, no matter what. Now I needed that same assurance for my dad, also one of God’s children.

Employees at the facility informed me that they had tried to find better placement for him, but all the hospitals and nearby care facilities had waiting lists and they had no assurance that there would be room for him anywhere else.