"God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for himself the knowledge of them, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event." ~ Matthew Henry, (1622-1714), Minister and Author

Treasured memories.

It's Friday, June 23, 2017, and I am glad to report that SWMBO will be back on Sunday, Lord willing. Those letters stand for She Who Must Be Obeyed. It's an inside joke. (Taken from the BBC Series, "Rumpole of the Bailey".) We look forward to her return. On a somber note, our dad is being released today from the rehab hospital. They have done all they can. We are not certain if he still has a brain infection or not, or, if we are dealing with the aftermath, but, they do not see him as being able to gain more function at this time. They will be discharging him to go home, initially, with hospice care. Our niece, Mary Beth, who cared for mom, will continue to take care of dad. If his brain should recover they can always change his status. We pray for God's will to be done in dad's life. Thanks to so many who continue to lift him up. It is so much appreciated. Amen.

Thanks to my granddaughters, Tiffany, Brittany, and Stefani for sending me this shirt for Fathers Day. That is so special. I love it. Their MiMi told them to get me a medium, but, this particular medium runs rather small. You know. It shrunk up in transit, plus, the fellow behind the curtain, (shirt), well, let me just say that he has been busy expanding the boundaries of his territory. It is overused, but, in this case, it is 100% accurate: It is the thought that counts! I should lose some weight, but, that's one of those getting around tuits that seem to be extremely elusive. I'll blame it on my age. You know, slow metabolism. If push comes to shove, I'll get it framed or hire someone really skinny to walk around with me holding an arrow pointing from the shirt to me. You know I am joking. There is a bottom line here. Read it for yourself. Number one Poppy!

While dealing with mom's passing and dad's failing health has been somewhat mentally exhausting, I can't escape the recurring thought I have concerning them as a couple. They loved each other. They served each other. And, they were blessed with independence for a long time. Thank You, Lord, for your provisions in their lives and for how they blessed us all. We as a family knew of their love and devotion to each other, but, it was refreshing to hear their pastor friend who spoke at mom's service talk about his own personal observations of them as a couple. My sister JoAnn sent me the photo of Mom's marker. It's in a military cemetery, therefore, the inscription choices were limited. I like it because it reflects her life and our hope we hold in seeing her again, 'until we meet again.' As the preachers like to say, it's not the total number of years, but it is the dash in between that tells our story. That's where our memories come from. And, that's why we feel blessed. Have yourself a really good Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. I will see what I can scramble up for our next time together. Until then, may God watch over us all. Amen. .....More later.