Dear Friends,
This past month there were quite a few sad news we received concerning the health of our family members and friends. We lost friends to COVID, my father-in-law is in the hospital with COVID on a ventilator, my sister’s melanoma spread and had to have a second surgery this past month, a dear friend of mine lost her precious baby she was pregnant with, and the list goes on.
None of this is easy to deal with. We grieve with the family’s who lost loved ones, we hurt with them, and we pray for them. It’s wonderful to see that in the midst of these tragedies, these families didn’t lose their faith, on the contrary, they trust and hope in God. When I see people run to God when they hurt instead of run away from Him, it reminds me that this is how I would like to react when something horrible happens in my life.
Job’s story comes to mind, especially Job 2:10. Here is a little context: Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” (Job 2:7-10)
UPDATE: The above update is from October 15. Unfortunately Dave, Chris’s dad passed away October 21st. Chris was able to visit him in the hospital in person, and before they put him on the ventilator the girls, Chris and I were able to video chat with him. Chris is coming home tomorrow, Lord willing, after spending 3 weeks in the States.
Dave’s Memorial Service was held in Paris, IL, at the church he attended for the past decade and some. Unfortunately the kids and I weren’t able to be there in person, but many friends were there from all over the US and even from abroad.
While I still can’t believe I won’t see Dave on this earth, it is amazing to see how many people he touched with his ministry from all over the world. It truly made me think about how important it is how we live our lives. I constantly hear people quote Dave, because he poured into people’s lives. I am very proud to be married to his son.
Our family is grieving, we are hurting, but praise be to God, we are well. We trust in God, we have hope in eternal life, and we have hope that Dave is with his Savior, and that we will see him again. It doesn’t make it easy, but we are not devastated and not without hope.
We truly appreciate your prayers. Throughout the past weeks, we felt prayed for. Thank you!