Life and Death…and Resurrection

I’m finally back from a delightful trip to Aaron and Carleen’s. They bought a grand old home in Connecticut (just an hour from NYC). I got to do all sorts of fun things, like unpack lots of boxes and play with Reuben and Gideon

Love up little Reid Solomon

Help Carlie with the laundry and ironing

Help out with the kitchen patrol and enjoy some exciting firsts, like Reid’s first taste of “real food” (as commonly designated to distinguish it from the world’s best, most nutritive food—breast milk).

help Carlie take the kids in for routine doctor visits

Join them at their local “farm share” to pick raspberries and tomatoes

…and to feed the goats…just for fun!

Besides all the work projects, we went to church and a church potluck, to MOPS, to the park, to work out at Aaron’s gym and tour his office, and one night out (just the three of us) for an unbelievably gourmet 12-course tapas extravaganza. Confession: I ate too much that night, but I will be talking about it until I can’t remember much of anything anymore!

The last day I zipped into NYC where my niece Dawn met me at Grand Central Station and escorted me back to my brother Wolle’s apartment. Adrianna wasn’t available that night, but Wolle, Dawn, and I went out for a really savory Vietnamese dinner, and then Wolle took me back to LaGuardia. My flight was delayed a long time due to the same storm that knocked out power in West Michigan the day before, but I finally got home at 2:15 am, and my beloved son Stephen valiantly met me at the airport. We got home just about the time Joel was getting up to head for work, where he starts at 4 am.

That was the great fun part. The great sad part is that today was Cheryl R’s funeral. I never dreamed she’d go so fast…had planned all sorts of games to play, letters to write, memoirs to consider, and books to read. She died too, too fast from my perspective, but I am so happy for her because she is now with our Lord, whole, healthy, and forever free from pain and tears. She’s the “lucky” one, it’s just that we’re too spiritually dimwitted to understand it most of the time!

“Jesus said unto her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live’.” (John 11:25)

High Tea at Cheryl’s

How are you? My life has become a bit too full to really recount, but I will tell you about this afternoon. My dear, dear friend Cheryl, who has so valiantly fought breast cancer, has recently been given a diagnosis that she only has 2-6 months left to live on this earth due to brain and lung metastases. As you can imagine, this is very devastating news for all of us who are close to her. She has balance problems and can no longer stand without assistance, and so a team of family and friends are helping care for her. I watch her three mornings a week, and I count it as a privilege…one of the many opportunities for ministry that I could not enjoy if I were working somewhere full time. At any rate, Cheryl’s mother-in-law hosted a fabulous “high tea” this afternoon for Cheryl and a group of us to celebrate life together. Although we all are grieving the upcoming loss of Cheryl’s fellowship, we are greatly consoled to know that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). What a precious Savior and Shepherd we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord!