My wife and I were married in 1993, and Luce was the most tender person in the world. So loving, so kind—being a nurse, that was just the way she was.

Luce passed away on November 10, 2019, after battling breast cancer. Grieving is not the easiest thing. There’s such a loneliness, not having your wife with you. In that loneliness, you see God’s presence in your life. He says, “I will hold you up, I will direct your paths, I will put My arms around you.” That’s been my prayer almost every night before I go to sleep. I say, “Lord, I need You. Put Your arms around me.”

Since Luce passed away, almost every morning I pray—“Lord, You’ve got me here. You’ve taken Luce home. What is it that You want me to do today?”

One day, the Lord asked me to do something special for Him. He asked me to visit the staff at Royal Columbian Hospital and to encourage the nurses there overwhelmed with COVID.

“Okay, Lord,” I said. “But how do I do that?”

“Leave the arrangements up to Me,” the Lord said.

At the end of January 2021, I started feeling like I had the flu. On Monday I felt worse than Sunday, and Tuesday I felt worse than Monday! On Thursday, I tested positive for COVID. I kept going downhill; I was having difficulty breathing and I ended up being in the ICU at Royal Columbian for about 20 days. In total, I was hospitalized for 40 days and 40 nights.

God had me there for a reason, so I tried to encourage the staff. My children were very concerned, but I was never fearful. I knew that I was where God wanted me to be, and I thanked Him for putting me there.

Since Luce was a nurse, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for nurses. Luce was not at a distance from God; I read her journals now, and I almost weep to see how close she was to the Lord. I was not, but since her passing that has changed. I am relying on God every day for every step that I take, asking, “Lord, what is it that You would have me do today?”

#ThisIsGoodNews #GoodNews

Simon Klaver is a member of Broadway Church in Vancouver, BC. Simon shared his testimony in this December 2021 video created by Broadway Church.

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