Forgive me for rambling in this post because there have been so many things happening lately. Some good and some things not so good.
We had the remnants of a tropical storm hit early one morning with 55 mph winds for four hours. When it was light enough to see outside, it looked like a war zone with tree limbs down everywhere. No trees fell and all limbs were small enough to remove easily but I have spent two weeks just picking up limbs. We lost power for a short time and were blessed much more than the people of Louisiana who were without power for up to a week in some areas. Our yard again looks like the pictures I posted in the last blog segment after many hours of hard work.
The election was a disturbing mess and continues to be unsettled. Georgia will go through a recount but they were still counting ballots today. President Trump was right to predict the mail-in ballots would create a huge problem. There were many irregularities and yet I doubt it is enough to change the outcome. We did lose sleep two night as we anxiously listened for the results. There is nothing more we can do but pray for our leaders and our nation.
I sprained my foot on Saturday afternoon. I worked hard in the yard most of the day and came in to rest in my easy chair. After checking emails and reading the news, I got up to go take a shower. I managed to put my computer on the small table in my office before I had a very hard fall. My right foot had gone to sleep but I did not feel it. It gave way and I fell, hitting my head on my office chair and making a big noise. Ron was in his office and heard it so he rushed in to help me up. I could not get up because my foot was sprained. We got my tennis shoe off and put an ice pack on it. I managed to pull up enough to get to a bed and with ibuprofen and the ice pack, I got some relief in about an hour. Now, two days later, my foot is swollen and black across the top and on both sides of the ankle. I can walk without much pain but it will take a while to heel.
The saying I saw on Facebook comes to mind...."Is that promise my mother made to slap me to the next year still open?" 2020 has been a year none of us will forget. Often, when Ron asks when something happened, I have to remember how old our kids were or where we were living at the time to figure it out. I don't think we will forgot anything that we have experienced in 2020 and yet there are blessings galore. We must remember to count them when things are not going exactly as we wish.
Ron is trying to get an appointment to have his painful shoulder checked but with the pandemic, a simple doctor appointment is not simple. I need two more dental appointments and with things happening, it is hard to know when to schedule them and I really rather not go out with the pandemic raging again anyway.
We lost a friend in Texas to cancer last week and today Leigh Ann (our daughter) lost a friend of 35 years to brain cancer. A couple of weeks ago, a friend in Alabama lost her husband with a stroke. Life is precious and even when we have the many ups and downs, we still should be thankful for each day of life. Don't forget to tell those you love how much you love them each day.
On a cheerful note, my niece in Oxford, Mississippi became a grandmother this week and they are so delighted to welcome Lewis into the world.
Ronald (our son who has the orphanage in the Philippines) wrote that they have a new boy 10 years old. When I want to feel sorry for myself, I remember children that have gone through so much more than I will ever experience. This little boy's mother died of cancer. There is no mention of a father. He was living with his grandmother but going around to neighbors begging for food. They are very poor and have nothing. Can we put ourselves into the plight of this grandmother or that little boy? How blessed we are and how ungrateful we are to complain about things.
Some years ago while we were working in China, I remember thinking of those mothers that abandoned their babies. It was different from uncaring mothers aborting their unborn babies. These mothers were so desperate they would leave their babies in the cover of night, wrapped tightly in old clothes and lay them near a place where someone would find them, How many of these women cried their entire lives for the children they were not allowed to keep? What pain they must have had. How happy could you be wondering if your child lived and was cared for?
Our work in Asia continues without any problems. None of our girls or workers are sick. Many have suffered in Laos from recent flooding. Ron will report by newsletter when he gets a report from our workers and how they have been able to help Christians who lost homes and needed food. Today, I read where a typhoon is hitting Viet Nam and Cambodia with severe flooding. It is a constant problem for poor people from Nicaragua last week to these people this week in Asia to suffer losses. When we realize that 80% of the world's population lives in poverty and are continually enduring storms and earthquakes, we should thank God every day for our many blessings in America.
Keep your focus on life and what is really important and don't let trivial things get you down and ruin your day. My daughter, Leigh Ann, has posted on the Facebook page something like this: "Live each day as if was your last." Cherish each day you wake up and each night when you can lie down in a comfortable bed, safe and without hunger.
I am sorry I got carried away with my focus on us not being appreciative enough. But it is a lesson we all need to think about.
With love to all of my friends and family...and to those who care about us and our work that I do not even know very well...May God bless you.
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