2019 Year-End Post

This is my annual year end blog & 

if there's one word/phrase that sums up 2019 it's this: 

it was the year of the family.

March

My mom has had her health issues over the past few years, mainly blood pressure/heart related & she's been to the ER a few times but in March she was hospitalized w/ both a virus & dehydration. It's hard when you see your elderly parents in the hospital, laying in bed… helpless... dependent… lonely… discouraged… it takes an emotional & physical toll on everyone involved. She was not entirely encouraged but she did make some choices to change her lifestyle: diet & exercise, all around living a healthier life & it has made a difference; though she still has her up & down days overall, she's getting better.  

When her mother was dying four years ago, I would drop everything & drive my mom up to South Haven 4 – 5 times a week to visit her, help take care of funeral arrangements & all that stuff. Like her mother, we've also had our long talks on the round trip drive; I realized that I have so much more to learn from my mom & so little time to learn it.

I'm grateful to still have my mom around but I'm preparing myself for the day when she won't be & the word "family" may forever change...  

April

My nephew Dustin & his wife Susan moved back to America from serving several years as worship leaders at the Jerusalem Prayer Tower/King of Kings Ministries in Israel. They loved living in Israel & ministering there, but everything has it's time/season & they felt it was time to come home & be w/ family; so in April they moved back to Michigan where Dustin is on part—time staff at the Blue Roof Church, St. Joseph, MI. 

I used to see them once every couple of years when they visited the US but now I'm seeing them  4 – 5 a times a month & when we talk, we talk about the importance of family as we never know how long we have them for. 

So on the menu for 2020 are more family Winter bowling outings… sledding… Spring tennis… Summer golf & beach volleyball… Saturday night Michigan Rummy games & lazy Sunday afternoon croquet w/ their grandparents… Fall orchard outings... walks in the woods... & then the Holidays all over again.

They really missed family & having them around has reminded me of things that I sometimes take for granted... 

July

July was a rough month, I lost my Uncle Paul to cancer. He was the second brother mom lost to cancer; my Uncle Johnny died of it when I was a year old, I never knew him but I knew Uncle Paul. He was a person of grace, he knew it, understood it & lived it. Back in the 70's, he & my Aunt Lee were w/ grace teacher Andrew Wommack when he first founded his ministry. Growing up I kept hearing stories about this ministry & when I finally watched Andrew's teachings on TV he would relay the exact same adventures & miracles that my uncle told me about several years before.

Andrew Wommack now has a worldwide ministry, he never asks for money, he just trusts God to provide & God does. When Uncle Paul was in the hospital dying, Andrew was in the middle of a televised conference but he took time out to call my aunt & to talk to my cousin James, ministering to him over the phone, encouraging him about both his father's love & his Heavenly Father's love & I appreciated that. 

I miss my Uncle Paul, I miss him greatly...

September

I met my great-nephew Sebastion for the first time, he's the son of my niece Karinne & her husband Drew. Sebastion was a cute little fellow, mild-mannered like Clark Kent but w/ a hint of mischievousness like Lex Luthor. As I held him, my mind flashed back to when I used to hold his mother when she was his age & suddenly I realized the preciousness & brevity of life, the importance of time & legacy… the passing of the baton from one generation to another...

It seems like you blink & you're married w/ kids. 

You blink again & your kids are grown.

Blink again & your kids are married w/ kids of their own.

Another blink & your grandkids are now parents.

All the while time makes it's slow, steady march to eternity...

October

My niece Sarah came for a visit, I hadn't seen her in ten years & she made a surprise appearance to visit her dad & grandparents. When I last saw her she was 16 & that's how I remembered her, now she's 26, a grown woman & a lot has changed.

Sometimes you remember people the way they used to be in the past & expect them to be that same way in the present but that's not always the case; sometimes they progress, sometimes they regress, sometimes they don't change a bit & other times they change completely.

I miss Sarah & would like to see her more often but she has a life of her own & she's living it, much like my own aunts & uncles would like to see me more often but I'm living my own life & see them when I can. 

December

Three weeks ago my dad had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital as he was vomiting blood. As he was being hoisted into it I was told he was giving my mom last-minute instructions about his funeral! He honestly thought this was the end… well, he survived the ordeal & is doing better but now I not only have to take my mom to her doctor's appointments I now get to add my dad to the list!  

I'm so grateful to still have my parents; I know I'm not always going to have them w/ me & I'm preparing myself for that time, but right here, right now I'm enjoying my family (& learning to enjoy sitting in the various waiting rooms) & I'm prioritizing them over everything but God; our parents are to be honored regardless of their age & I don't mind rearranging my schedule to help them.

December also marked the end of the Mayberry Bible Study, our Men's Group ministry. I had led it for around 20 months & it was time to move on to something else. I miss it, the men became like a family to each other & that was my goal. The MBS helped me to be more sociable, to open up, trust & love like family & hopefully I can be more involved in my fellowship's activities now, which, being single, I still wrestle w/ from time to time...

Well, that was 2019, the year of hospital rooms, waiting rooms, doctor's offices, reunions, arrivals & departures; in other words, it was the year of the family.