Christmas

We've had a beautiful, joyful and bittersweet Christmas in Kansas.

So many people have expressed sadness for our family - that we're facing the imminent loss of someone so dear at Christmastime. While we appreciate the heartfelt sympathy, and while we grieve Dee's suffering and our loss, I can think of no better time to go through such pain than at Christmas.

What better time to stroke a dying woman's hand than when surrounded by lights, a tree and beautifully wrapped, thoughtfully chosen gifts?

What better time to contemplate death, minister to the dying and encourage the surviving than when we contemplate most intently the birth of our Savior and His gift of everlasting life?

What better time to go through the grueling process of watching someone you love waste away than when you can temporarily escape to finish perfectly justified shopping errands where even the materialistic, consumeristic malls play Carols and hymns?

And when you have other healthy diversions such as filling the house with the beautiful smell and taste of freshly baked cookies?

Or playing in the snow.....

What better time to cherish each other and to need support, than time designed for families to be together?

What better time to be homebound than when a choir of friends stands ready to deliver church and and Carols to your living room?

What better time to deal with grief than a time designed for little children who bring laughter and sheer silliness to the scene to be their most excited and playful?

Praise God for His many blessings, for granting our request for this Christmas together. Thank you Dee for having the faith to believe it possible and fight for it while graciously accepting reality and all the possibilities of God's will and timing each day.