The Lion

 My dad, Jim Patryn, passed away on March 1, 2025, just a few weeks shy of his 76th birthday.  My last blog post was written right on the heels of losing my grandmother, not even six months ago.  This season has been heavy and I'm working on processing a lot.  I thought it would be helpful to write about the week my dad died, and what God did in the midst of it. 

February was a hard month.  My dad's health really declined during that first week of the month, and by February 6th, when I flew up to help for a week, he was cognitively not aware of much, and I could tell the end stages were near.  That week was emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausting, but I can't even imagine or speak for how much more difficult it was for Mom as his caretaker day after day for weeks. 

Sometime around the middle of my visit, Dad stopped eating.  This was another sign.  The hospice nurses said it would probably be about a week and we would be saying our final goodbyes.  I flew home to VA on my scheduled flight, conflicted if that was the right thing to do or not.  But I had a family back home to return to that needed me, and I needed them. 

On February 24th, I woke up that morning and read my devotional.  The scripture passage was from Gen. 29:8-12, describing Judah as a young lion, pointing the Israelites to the coming Christ who would be like the Lion of Judah.  I rarely do more than just write notes when I journal, but that day, I got out an orange highlighter and wrote in big bubble letters, "The Lion of Judah". 

Later that morning, our family went over to Langley Air Force Base with Jordan for his re-enlistment ceremony.  This would be his final re-enlistment before retirement, and it felt significant.  Just four years left, and he retires.  Where has the time gone?! 

We also knew that the next day, we would find out if Jordan would promote to E-8.  The promotion would be significant in deciding if our next four years would let us stay in Virginia or move us to somewhere else.  We don't want to leave our community here and everything God has built for us and around us, so our hearts were very unsure about what we would do if Jordan was offered the promotion. To make matters even more stressful, Jordan almost made promotion last year, and this year had the #1 must-promote tag on his record.  In other words, promotion was most likely happening.

Back to the re-enlistment ceremony... Jordan didn't want an audience except for his family, so he asked a good friend of his to conduct the ceremony on the flight line.  So cool!  We went to the building to meet with him, and couldn't figure out where he was.  A receptionist said we were in the wrong building and escorted us down a long hallway and pointed us out the door to a second building across the parking lot.  As the five of us are walking down that hallway, I hear in my head "Hail hail, Lion of Judah, let the lion roar..." (it's a popular worship song, if you aren't familiar).  

As we walked into the second building, right inside the doors was a taxidermic LION in a glass case.  In an office building on an air force base.  WHAT? WHY? HOW? 

It turns out, the original building we were in was where we were supposed to be all along, but if that one lady hadn't pointed us to come to the second building, we never would have seen the lion. 

Later that afternoon, I'm in my counselor's office about to tell her this story, and I look over, and there is a stuffed lion on her couch.  I asked her if it had always been there, and she said yes, but I just never noticed it before! 

Ok, so the lion stuff is really getting my attention. 

The next day was promotion day.  We waited with bated breath all day.  

By the end of the work day, Jordan called me.  He did not get the promotion.  We couldn't believe it.  But we just knew God had to have made that happen.  All signs were pointing to Jordan promoting, so only God could have intervened. 

We were in awe.

My dad passed away a few days later, on the morning of March 1st.  When Mom called to tell me the news, and I realized the date, the first thing I heard in my head was "March comes in like a lion." I asked a few friends later on if that was a popular expression, just to make sure I wasn't making it up.  There is a popular expression about March that goes "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb."  It's in regards to the finicky spring weather that comes in March. 

The lion of the tribe of Judah represents God who is in control of every detail.  Nothing and no one escapes the authority and reign of the lion, and God was getting our attention that we were very much in his scope of authority that week! 

Little did I know, the Lion was just waiting to ROAR over our family for the next two weeks.  What happened next is nothing short of miraculous and inspiring.  I'll make a short list of how God showered his love on us during such a difficult time of grief. 

1. We went to church the same day Dad passed, and our pastor shared a word and vision he had about Dad that blessed so many others to come and receive prayers and healing at the altar.  It was overwhelming and one of the closest encounters with the Holy Spirit we've ever experienced.

2. Friends took our sweet puppy Hazel and loved her like their own with no limit of when we needed to come back and get her. 

3. Our church family set up a meal train donation link to send us money to travel with and cover an expenses to eat out or feed ourselves.  The donations that came in overwhelmed us.  It was incredible. 

4. Our Expedition gave us trouble on the ride to MA, so we took it in to Dad's trusted mechanic the day after we got there.  The cost of repairs was way more than we expected.  A beloved friend of ours paid the bill, no questions asked. 

5. Friends and family traveled from all over the country to be with us and shower love on us.  Friends from every pocket of our lives.  I was in awe of the sacrifices they made to come, but I also knew I couldn't have done it without them.  In particular, one friend watched our children the morning of the funeral and made them feel loved, safe, and have fun.  Others traveled all the way from VA and one even insisted on driving with me on the way home to MA as I was going alone with the kids.  Another cousin came all the way from CA, and others drove down from NH.  I also had hometown friends come with their families.  I felt so loved and seen that weekend, and I just knew God was trying to show me a part of Himself in these people.

6. Friends checked on our house and even wiped things down and changed smoke alarms for me that were beeping.  I came home to a clean home, and a stocked fridge.  Words cannot express my gratitude. 

7. Gifts, cards, sympathies, meals, and flowers were all received, felt, and heard from all facets of our lives.  We truly felt loved from all around us, and we are surviving this season because of all of you. 

I simply cannot thank everyone adequately enough for what they have done for us.  But as I was standing on my friend's porch the other night reflecting on the last two weeks, I just felt God remind me, "See? I told you I was the Lion and Lions roar...."  Look what God did. I will praise Him for the rest of my days!

May this testimony be a light in your own life.  If you're going through something dark, something hard, something unexplainable... if you feel like you're on a train you can't get off of... if there are big decisions in front of you and you're scared of the outcomes... if a loved one is dying and you know the end is near... Let me just encourage you that there is a God who loves you more than you could ever imagine and really is in control of every detail.  Because I know God intimately, seeing Him move in these ways is not hard for me to recognize, and this could all be for you, too.

May what I'm going through in this season be nothing but a light to some of you who need it right now. 

Once again, thank you for being here and letting me share.