Christmas carries on at our home, as we consider the gift of still-fresh memories of the past year and the promises of the next.
鈥淗on, if you had to wrap 2019 up in a few words or a sentence, how would you do that?鈥� I asked on Christmas Day.
The Preacher answered without hesitation. 鈥淪urprise!鈥�
Perfectly condensed. I couldn鈥檛 have expressed it better. Flipping through my photos from the last twelve months I marvelled how many remarkable events God slipped into our 2019 calendar, some we could never have anticipated. And for each one, he proved faithful.
At work, my colleague Judy鈥檚 side of the office is now a waiting/sitting room. She retired following a long period of ill health and surgery complications. Every workday, I miss our teamwork, her generous spirit, sharp wit and infectious laughter. But God is good, and precious friendships should never be shelved. Our almost decade of side-by-side casework and advocacy forged a bond neither of us can escape or wishes to. We still speak to and see each other often.
Even our wheels surprised us, making an unplanned vehicle switch necessary. My faithful old Impala sits in our daughter鈥檚 yard now. My newer one showed up at the perfect time鈥攁 God wink, that.
The Preacher鈥檚 second biggest surprise arrived when his sister Sue walked off the plane鈥攖he 鈥減arcel鈥� he and Amanda drove to the airport to pick up. She stayed about two weeks; not nearly long enough. My own sister and brother and their spouses came later鈥攁 happy happening, though for a sad reason鈥攁 set of three family funerals of a much beloved uncle and two aunts. But those funerals blessed us too, with family reunions reminding us all of another, bigger meeting someday in Heaven.
Nor did we expect that our daughter and son-in-law would move to a beautiful acreage about the same distance from us as their last home, just in another direction. We鈥檙e thrilled they chose to remain in the area.
My cataract surgeries made me far-sighted, rather than myopic. After a lifetime of near-sightedness, I鈥檓 still adjusting to that shock.
God saved our biggest surprise for the final month of 2019鈥攖he purchase of a sweet retirement home we expect to move into permanently one day. A home on one level for the Preacher鈥檚 convenience. It鈥檚 not far from a hospital, and closer to our daughter鈥檚 family. When it鈥檚 time, saying farewell to our cozy home in Ebenezer, with its park-like backyard, close-knit community and church family we鈥檝e come to know and appreciate, will be difficult. Hope House has been a gift for a beautiful decade. We鈥檒l enjoy it until we sell it, praying even now for the right purchaser to live in and love our home.
Some surprises none of us welcome, but we鈥檝e learned that God does amazing things with those too. Whatever your surprises have been or will be, look for reminders of his love and care. And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to our readers and friends.
