Through The Waters

Danielle's blog has been converted into book format and will be available to anyone who would like to purchase a copy. The book will be coil-bound, around 170 pages, and $25 per copy. If you are interested, please send me a message as soon as possible (mrvddeen at hotmail dot com) so I can add your name to the print list. The order will be submitted in a few weeks and the books should be ready in the middle of February. To confirm your order, please send payment by cash or etransfer.  Once printed, books can be picked up from me (Mt Brydges) or from my parents' home (Hamilton) - shipping is not available. If you would like a book and need it to be shipped to you directly, soft cover or hard cover books with a variety of quality options are available through these links: Tradebook: http://www.blurb.ca/b/9246109-through-the-waters Photobook:  http://www.blurb.ca/b/9246077-through-the-waters Blurb often has coupon codes, so look for one before you order.

For those who were unable to attend or would like to watch it again, here is a link to the video recording of the Memorial Service held for Danielle DeVries: Danielle DeVries Memorial Service

For those who would like to watch the Memorial Service for Danielle but are unable to attend, the service will be live-streamed on Saturday, August 25 at 11:00 am, accessible via the following links: Sermon Audio Livestream Rehoboth URC Facebook page Our hope is to put a link here to the recorded service to be available for download or streaming afterwards.

DeVries, Danielle Arlene (nee Mussche)  – On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, at the age of 40, our beloved Danielle entered into glory.  She died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, after a courageous battle with colon cancer.  Although we are broken-hearted to say good-bye, we know one day we will meet again because of the sure promises given by our Heavenly Father. Beloved wife of Timothy for 5 years, and loving mother of Martha and Ava.  Cherished daughter of Henry and Arlene Mussche, and daughter-in-law of John and Jantina DeVries.  Dear sister to Rachel & Michael Vander Deen (Peter, Aaron, Nathaniel, Stephen) and Lauren & Tom Schotsman (Benjamin, William, Sadie, Ruth), and sister-in-law to Mark, Rochelle & Darryl Exelby (Alannah, Ian, Camille, Lia), and Angela & Josh Duger (Milo). Danielle was loved and will be dearly missed by many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and colleagues. Special thanks to the many ...

Dear family and friends, Our beloved Danielle entered into glory early this morning, surrounded by her loved ones.   We draw comfort that she is now with the Lord.   “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.   Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing ” (2 Timothy 4:7-8. )   We are thankful for the peace she came to in her last weeks, looking forward to dipping her toes into the Sea of Crystal. We are thankful for the great comfort from our heavenly Father that is ours through His promises.   Indeed, His promises have become manifest in vivid colour – what a comfort to know that although we say goodbye in this life, we can look forward to meeting again. Nevertheless, I am continually with you;     you hold my right hand. You guide me with your ...

     It's nearly 4 pm and here I am, quietly tucked in my room, hiding out on a comfy chair, having sleep fluttering around in my brain but somehow refusing to obey its clarion call to relax and renew.   I just can't let go all the way so this will be a short little post to share a few verses of Scripture that have taken on a new meaning for us as we heard them softly and gently shared with us last evening.   It's amazing how those verses have been there all along and yet take on new meaning and deeper meaning as this journey continues onward.   I hope that these words may take a root in my soul and mind to encourage, to strengthen, to provide comfort.   7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in...

    It's Sunday afternoon here at the hospice.  I write to you with the window open, the breeze gently poking it's head in, the birds squabbling over the food in the feeder and the clouds providing a spectacular background to my thoughts.  I hope you all look up and appreciate the skies above, where God paints the world with love, that's how I know He lives (words from a very old song on a kids record).   And in our devotions the other day, there was a reminder and a call to look beyond the clouds, the flowers, the birds and look to the Master of Creation, to the God who loves us, who creates beauty for us to appreciate and enjoy and who teaches us to appreciate these beauties.\             I     have to admit that this picture is not one that I took...I looked through my archives for a suitable image but there was none.  I need to acknowledge that the image is not my own and I want to be honest abou...

A brief update from Rachel on how things are going: Danielle was able to move to a room at the Bob Kemp Hospice on Wednesday afternoon. We are very thankful for the compassionate care, welcoming environment and the peaceful setting here. It is a difficult place to be but they have made it as comfortable as possible, with cozy rooms, home cooked meals, and thoughtful access to the lush outdoor surroundings. Danielle continues to struggle with pain and fatigue, and finding a suitable balance of pain control with alertness. There are many people who would like to see her and also people she would like to see. It is hard for her to balance this with the very important task of preparing for her future and spending precious time with Timothy, Martha and Ava. We have set up a schedule to make important visits manageable for Danielle. It is necessary to limit visiting to those who are especially close to her, and also to limit the length of visits to 15 minutes. Out of love and re...

It's Timothy, Danielle's husband writing again. Danielle's been in the hospital since the 7th now, a total of about ten days. As of the last post the doctors were working to restore her blood levels and find a good balance with the pain meds. On Wednesday Danielle had an x-ray to see if there was excess fluid in her abdomen which was causing the pain. This was inconclusive so on Thursday a CT scan was ordered, and the results came to Danielle and her mother on Friday afternoon: Danielle's liver had almost entirely been replaced by the cancer, and there were new and bigger spots in her lungs and the abdominal wall. The doctors set 11:00 am on Monday as the time for a family meeting, to determine the next steps of Danielle's care. While it was helpful to know there was a point at which some decisions would be made, it was difficult to understand how the disease had progressed this much, so quickly. On Friday night I didn't get the news from Danielle and her Mom ...

It's Timothy, Danielle's husband writing this evening. A lot has happened since Danielle wrote the last post on the Thursday following our appointment in Toronto. We spent the long weekend with Danielle's parents and her sister Rachel's family at their place outside of London. We had been hoping to do something as a family this summer and backyard camping seemed to fit the bill since it had the most flexibility in case things went differently then planned. As it happened, Danielle's younger sister Lauren's daughter got chicken pox the Thursday before the weekend so, in an effort to reduce the chance of infection, it was decided that Danielle and our family would go up over the weekend, and then Lauren's family would come up after we left on Monday night. We had an appointment with the oncologist on Tuesday so this seemed to make the most sense. The highlight of the weekend was undoubtedly a pig roast on Saturday, an all-day affair which culminated in ...

        It's Thursday mid-morning here in the Meadows... all is quiet down the hall, Ava's in bed and sleeping after a bit of a protest about being left on her own in a big bed - she's a difficult one to get to nap some days.  She's a busy girl lately, moving backwards and getting stuck under the coffee table or the piano bench.  It's neat to see her doing a lot of "firsts" but also makes me think that our house is not very baby-proof.  Gotta work on that.  Martha has been busy at day care with graduation (hard to imagine graduation from daycare but it was very sweet and we were so proud of her for singing well and being a helper to her classmate who was a bit sad during the graduation!  Very sweet to see!) and learning about drawing people and playing outside on her trike or scooter.  She is very inquisitive and full of energy, not something I can always keep up with, that's for sure.  I'm glad she has good playmates at school and ...

      It's quiet here in the Meadows.  Bird song is muted by the roar of the air conditioners in our neighbourhood working overtime to combat the heat and humidity that has descended on our city.  Inside, Ava's having a nap and I just finished watering the poor suffering outdoor plants and am sitting down for a rest in our not so cool but hopefully soon will be cool house.  We probably should have caved long ago but I love the breeze blowing and the sounds of summer and I hate to shut it all out, but at some point it becomes necessary. Timothy's off to work - when I think to over a year ago, just last week, was his starting point at Cardus.  How we thought "what are you doing, Lord?" but have since then realized the amazing blessings of his being able to work so close to home and for a Christian organization and a short commute compared to hours each day on the train.  And Martha is nearly done a year at daycare - how much of a huge transition was...

   Deep breaths...quiet house this afternoon, baby sleeping, Martha's out on errands with Dad and the couch is mine alone for a few precious seconds.  Side aching, mouth hurting, stomach upset, these are the shadows and not so fun things that accompany me through my days.  Taking pain meds, heating pads, naps, nothing actually takes the pain away for real.  Tough to eat, tough to sleep, tough to be there for my family when I so desperately want to be, in a real way, not just a half hearted shadow of myself.  Tough to compile thoughts, to share, to summarize the last weeks, tough to know where I'm at right now.  It feels like we are just in the rut of chemo every two weeks, with little hiccups in between.  There have been a few trips to the ER, with colitis caused by the chemo, and again with a good temperature of 39.1 on Sunday evening and me definitely not feeling up to snuff - feeling achy, skin sore, head pounding, shaking despite m...

    It's a rainy April morning... the last Saturday in April already...how times flies and how much we try to pack into our days.  Yet, it's good to sit and to meditate, to see the flowers throwing off their coats of dirt and leaves and rearing their yellow flowers to the warmth of the sun, stretching their limbs after a cold winter of being all tucked up in a little ball and somehow, someway, only our God truly knows how that miracle of life makes itself known...brightening our lawn and our house and our hearts with such beauty.  Yes, our daffies seem to make themselves known very early on in the season, probably because they're leaning against the bricks of our house and our house faces east and so there's lots of warm sun on them and radiating towards them that they are eager beavers to get out and catch some rays.  So if you need a taste of spring, c'mon down and have a peek.     It's been a busy few weeks and hence no major updates. ...