Christmas, New Year, little hospital stay...

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! We hope you were able to enjoy many blessings this holiday season. We spent time together eating, playing games, and just doing life together.

Sandy continues to have ups and downs, sometimes mere hours apart from each other. She is learning to guard her energy, spending it a little at a time so she can have enough for what is needed.

Many of you have seen the video that our church made. If you have not, or want to see it again, here is the link: https://vimeo.com/115013190

At the church Christmas program, my daughter watched closely as the actors walked through a door that was part of the set. She finally asked me why they didn't just walk around the edge of the set, a few feet away, as that would be easier. It struck me that we're often that way with God. We see what He is doing and we wonder why He is choosing that path rather than the one that seems obviously easier, less painful, and perhaps even more effective. Yet we must trust that God, in His infinite wisdom, HAS chosen the best path, regardless of how it may seem to us. We need to keep walking through that door on the set, willingly playing the role God has assigned to us, trusting that He will bring meaning, value, and purpose out of each of life's circumstances.

Sandy will travel to TX for updated scans/tests/labs in a few weeks. Please pray for safe travels, wise doctors, stamina, peace, and healing.

Last night, due to a lingering fever, fatigue, and general malaise, Sandy's doctor instructed her to go to the hospital for labwork and testing. She was admitted and will be there until at least tomorrow. They are looking into whether she needs a new stent; the preliminary results indicate a possibility of a blocked and infected stent. This is not the way she hoped to spend the end of Christmas break, but we are thankful this was caught before turning into anything worse.