Service Information and a Reflection from daughter Suzanne

We know many of you have been wondering about service information for our mom.

Visitation:

Ottawa Funeral Home

1111 La Salle St, Ottawa, IL

Friday, January 31, 4 pm - 8 pm

Funeral:

Fox River Lutheran Church

2785 U.S. 52, Sheridan, IL

Saturday, February 1, 10:30 am

Here's a link to her Memorial Page...In Memory of Mary Provance.

The past week has been incredibly hard on all of us.  We had to watch her health decline and say goodbye to our Mom here on earth.  We are so thankful she went to be with the Lord yesterday evening and that the burden of her struggles here would be no more.  Praise God for that!  She's taught each one of us SO much throughout our lives...how to love others, what it looks like to serve, how to be there for our children, when to stand up for what we know is true, how to support our spouses, how to not worry about what life may bring but instead to relax and have fun.  The past 5 years she's taught us how to persevere through life's most difficult trials.  She looked death in the face multiple times throughout that time and said she wasn't ready to give up.  She beat every odd placed before her.  She baffled doctors with her strength.  We will all be forever changed and better because of her life.  

I will miss her, dearly, everyday for the rest of my life.  For MANY reasons, but particularly how I could talk to her about anything and everything and she would listen so intently.  She knew how to make her family and friends feel like the most important person in the world while she'd listen about anything and share her thoughts.  Throughout the years ahead, I pray God will remind each one of us to be a friend like she was...to put others first and to love deeply.

Finally, I am strengthened through the promise God has offered to us through His word.  This is part of an article by Jack Kelly that has given me such hope in this most difficult time.

"...for a believer, death is the ultimate healing. Death brings the life we were always intended to live, and would already be living if not for our sin nature. For the “dead” believer, all of this life’s problems, pains, and sorrows are over and a glorious eternal life of blessing and abundance awaits.

The more we know about the life after death the less we cling to the life before. And since only God knows the end from the beginning, only He can know the pain and suffering He’s prevented in calling someone home early. The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.(Isaiah 57:1)"

FULL ARTICLE

The Pathway to Heaven

Trust is a golden pathway to Heaven. When you walk on this path, you live above your circumstances. My glorious light shines more brightly on those who follow this path of Life. Dare to walk on the high road with Me, for it is the most direct route to heaven. The low road is circuitous: twisting and turning in agonizing knots. There the air hangs heavy, and dark, and ominous clouds predominate. Relying on your own understanding will weigh you down. Trust in Me absolutely and I will make your path straight. (Jesus Calling: January 27th)

Mary led the way and had the faith of an army. She faced the battle, trusted in the Lord, and went to be with Him today. Although we could not ask for more and were rejoicing amidst our tears, she is going to be dearly missed. Thank you for all of the love you continue to shine upon us.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." John 14:1-2

Rest in His peace, Mary, we love you.

Surrounding Mom with LOVE

Mom wasn't able to open her eyes much today, but there were so many non-verbal signals which gave us the clear understanding that we knew she was listening.  Each of us were able to spend some time talking with her, and most importantly letting her know how much we love her and how much she means to us.

Today was a day of holding hands with Mom...sharing a personal moment with her...reading her some scripture...and most of all letting her know that it's ok!  It's ok Momma, it's ok to take the next step...we know it will never be goodbye but like your Mom used to say - "Don't say goodbye, say so long..."

Pastor Kevin and Susan Garner were here today and we had a great time of prayer and reflection.  Pastor told her that it was ok as well, and that when the Lord reaches His hand out to go ahead and grab it...we know that she is feeling a sense of peace about things and her hope is fully in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are taking shifts overnight and all sleeping here at the house, please continue to pray for her peace and comfort until He decides it's His Desire to bring her home... We love you all, we feel your love/support!

Adam and the entire Provance crew

Please watch this video if you get a chance, it's an amazing message from our former Pastor at the Bible Chapel in PA...

http://southhills.biblechapel.org/tag/death/

Blessings

Hi there friends and family!  Cousin Jenni here taking over the blog for a quick minute. I know the Provance family is so thankful for everything that everyone has done to show their love lately!  We just wanted to make things a little easier for everyone and put out a sign up for meals.

The Provance family has been such a blessing to so many people. Lets pour some blessings back onto them by giving our love through meals. This is a busy time for so many, and if you would like to bless them with gift cards instead of meals, I'm sure that would be greatly appreciated as well. Some of their favorites are Bianchi's, Subway, Casey's, Corleone's, & Fergy's. If you have any questions about delivery or your meal in general contact Amy at (815)343-5977.  Click the link below to sign up!
 Enter last name: family password: provance

takethemameal.com


Thanks in advance!  

Momma Update

Hello Everyone,

Things continue to be very challenging for Mom, and that has been the case for the last several days.  She's not able to get out of bed much, if at all, but she is still getting the best care that can be provided both by Julie and some of the nurses that are with her consistently.  We have now added another family member to the "night duty" just to make sure that Julie is never alone with Mom and that is giving both Julie and our overall family some relief. 

We are in a position for the moment that we'll have to hold off on any visitors because of her condition.  She sleeps quite a bit due to her fatigue and also due to some of her medications.  During the time she is awake we've been able to play some favorite songs, let one or two grandkids see Grammy, read some scripture with her, and of course she's still catching a few of her favorite shows on HGTV!!   Even through her challenges we still see glimpses of Mom, whether she's laughing at a story being told by someone in the room or smiling at one of her kids/grandkids...there is comfort knowing that she is able to rest well and feel the overwhelming love/support around her every minute of the day.  Dad is continuing to shower her with his love and care and we know she looks forward to his hug/kiss everyday when he gets home from work! 

I'm sure some of you are wondering what you may be able to do to help...sometimes it's difficult to know what to do.  We have been blessed with some meals that people have dropped off at the house and if that is something you would like to do please contact one of us and find out if there is a night that would work for you.  It's such a nice feeling to know that as we are there with our children or running everywhere with the craziness of our lives that we don't have to worry about making dinner.  Another thing that we may need this week and over the next few weeks is help with the kiddos...and we're not sure how that works at this point but if you're up for helping out with them here or there please let us know.  We are making the best we can out of these challenging times but a few of these little things go a long way to help our family, and we thank those that have already been willing and able to help!!  Love to you all!

Adam

Update From The Entire Provance Family

First, thank you all for the continued prayers, support, meals, and overall care that you have given to our family - none of your efforts go unnoticed and we have all been touched by the ways you have been there for us.  These are tough times...no doubt, but there are a few things that have been there from the beginning of this journey that have allowed us to stay strong, have peace, and be united as a family.  Jesus Christ continues to be at the center of our walk through this situation, it's hard to imagine where we would be without the hope that is offered to us through Him.  In addition to that, we have been touched by so many of you with your visits, cards, texts, phone calls, or a simple offer of assistance. 

Mom's situation remains very challenging at this time due to several conditions.  Her fevers, although they have come down some, continue to cause her problems.  It's very difficult to determine whether she has an infection or if the leukemia is just starting to affect her body in ways that none of us can understand.  She still remains in the best of hands with her team of doctors both at Northwestern Hospital and locally with Dr. Howd/Morris Hospital.  They have been working with our entire family to offer any assistance that either Mom or we need...and we are very grateful for their loving care/support.  It's not often that you can talk to your team of doctors on their cell phones or get instant responses from people in their positions, but that is what we are getting from them! 

Due to the difficulty of what Mom is experiencing currently, we are asking that any visitors please check in with one of us before planning to come by the house.  We are doing our best to honor Mom's wishes each day...some days she feels up for talking and there are other days that she does not really have the ability to handle such tasks.  Just know that she feels the outpouring of love and support from each and every one of you and her biggest request is for you to continue praying for her and our family...even though we all know you have already been doing that!!  All of her children and grandchildren (and of course Dad/Greg, there are not many Dad's or people like him in this world) are continually there with her.

We are not sure what the next week will look like for Mom, but you can be reassured that she is in the best of hands all the way around.  We will be sure to give updates as we know more, and don't be afraid to reach out to us via text or phone call if you have questions or just want to talk.  We love you all and from each of us....Dad, Amy, Adam, Julie, Suzanne, David and most importantly Momma; thank you for everything. 

With Love,

Adam

Infection

Hi all. For those of you who check in often, Mom could use some prayers. She has had fevers and felt pretty awful since Friday. She's stable and her counts are ok, but she definitely has an infection that's knocking her down. Please pray with us that the antibiotics do their job and she can get back to feeling ok.

Thanks!

Still doing fine

Hi all, thanks for checking in. I've been meaning to update, sorry it's taken a while. Mom is still doin quite well!  She's a walking miracle and we are so thankful each day. We had a nice Christmas as a family and mom and dad spent New Year's Eve at her brother Joe's. Since then we've been hiding indoors from all this cold.

Mom gets blood and platelets at least once a week, as she needs them. She's able to get them in Morris now rather than traveling to Chicago. 

She has days that her head hurts or she'll have a stomach ache, but generally her health is much better than expected. She doesn't do a whole lot other than talk with visitors and relax around the house. She has to be careful leaving the house because she doesn't have the cells built up to fight infection. Julie has been mom's main caregiver, giving her her medicine, making her food, and keeping her company. We are always trying to balance what meds mom is taking depending on her blood counts. There are challenges each week but overall it's been pretty calm and enjoyable last month. 

Please continue to pray for mom and our family as we support her. Thanks for all your love.