We write with grateful but heavy hearts to share the news of Peter's passing this morning, May 18th, at 7:30 a.m. The loss we feel is profound, and yet we rejoice in faith that he is even now entering into the light of God's presence. He went in peace, surrounded by our prayers.
For those of you who are in the area and would like to come, a memorial service in honor of Peter's life will be held next Friday, May 24 at 2:30pm at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Corvallis. The reception following the service will be held at our home.
These past few weeks have been intense and sad, as we've cared for Peter in his steady decline. For those of you who are counting, Peter's death comes just a few days short of the 2-4 month prognosis his doctors gave us in March. If Peter were here to write this post, he'd certainly have plenty of conjectures about how and why his cancer went the way it did towards the end and what it all means medically. The truth is that we will never know – we simply rest in thanksgiving for Christ's presence with us, the Great Physician who knows the inner workings of our bodies and ordains the days of our life, and the moment of our death. Cancer did not have the final word in Peter's story. His journey has only begun now that he has passed into the "life that is truly life" (1 Tim. 6:19), where we trust he will live with God forever in his resurrected body.
We want to thank you all for your prayers, kind thoughts, phone calls, blog comments, messages, and words of encouragement during this time – our whole family has felt your care so deeply and truly sense our unity in Christ's love. We're especially thankful for the season of Pentecost that is now upon us, and trust that the Holy Spirit will come to our hearts to illuminate and console, as Jesus promised. We do not mourn as those who have no hope.
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