Looking back over a lifetime, I'm overwhelmed! Looking back a year, I'm overwhelmed. Even looking back over the last couple of days, I am awash with the sense of God's presence and His grace!
Over the decades God's grace has worked miracles in relationships, in circumstances, and in medical wonders—the most recent being a "whole new pair of eyes" for me via the simplest of all surgeries, the removal of cataracts and replacement of lenses in both eyes. In times which are obviously "good", and in crisis times of stress and concern, God's grace abounds. Our upcoming month of Thanksgiving underscores an ongoing lifestyle of thanksgiving enjoyed by any and all who understand the reality of God's "Amazing Grace"!
Blessed with a large family, I share the reality of grace with numerous loved ones. We laugh and cry, pray for each other, and rejoice in the fact that we are together in all of our joys and sorrows. Currently we are sharing the prayerful anticipation of two more family members: 1) a new baby girl, Mia, due in December and 2) a new son-in-law-to-be, Sammi, due to arrive from Nigeria.
In 2006, our daughter Martina embarked on a 4 year adventure of teaching at the American School in Abuja, Nigeria. There she met Sanmi (pronounced "Sah-mi"—the "n" is silent) and they eventually became engaged. Now Martina has been back in the USA for over a year and she is teaching in Spring Green, Wisconsin. In the fall of 2010, Martina and Sanmi began the long process of procuring a fiance's visa that he could come here to live. The "powers that be" are thorough, and the process of obtaining a visa can be lengthy.
Now Sanmi has his visa, and only a few business details remain before he can fly to Wisconsin where he and Martina will be married. Both of these young people are in their mid 30s. Neither one of them has been married before. They have waited a long time for each other.
Needless to say, our family is tremendously eager to meet Sanmi. Many of us have chatted with him on the phone, but if you have ever experienced a phone conversation to Nigeria you know how spotty and fragmented that connection can be! Soon we'll visit in person, and rejoice in the marriage of Martina and Sanmi (pictured below)!
What has Israel displayed to the world?
What has Israel displayed to the world? Israel has irrevokably shown the world that Jehovah God is a God of peace, a God of love—the one and only Lord of all creation. Israel has displayed to the world that life is valuable. We are made in God's image. Human life, yes EVERY INDIVIDUAL PERSON, is infinitely priceless and precious!
Welcome home, Gilad Shalit! Many people I know are praying for your recovery. We love you. We love your nation!
This somewhat diluted-by-sunshine teeter totter adventure features our 4 year old great-granddaughter Brynn and me (the old one). The reason for the photo involves another great-grandchild, 5 year old James.
Earlier in the summer when James was still 4 years old, I took him and his 2 year old sister, Lyla, to our neighborhood playground. James saw the teeter totter and got very excited. He ran and sat down on one end of it. Little Lyla followed, and stood with her hand on the vacant seat—obviously wanting me to put her on it. I joined the children, so that I could give Lyla "a leg up" as they say in horse racing.
Joe and I have been chuckling about James's concern ever since. So recently, when we went to the playground with Brynn we asked her mom to take a photo of the old grammy teeter tottering—and then to share the picture with James since he and Brynn are cousins.
Note: There's an addendum to this adventure. Last week James came to visit again, and we went to the playground. I decided to really impress him, by swinging on one of the swings. Back and forth I went, pumping higher and higher—like the child in Robert Louis Stevenson's A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES. My it was fun. But later, I paid the piper with a spine that could scarcely move let alone straighten up. I was gimped.