What a ride we are on! Life continues to be filled with contrasting experiences, doesn't it?
We spent a week on a wonderful vacation together with the whole family at a friend's house in South Carolina....beautiful, restful, fun. We'd decided not to rent a pontoon boat for cruising and tubing this year as a way to keep expenses down, then we discovered our friends had left us access to their incredible wave-runner. Wow! We didn't ride it very long each day, but each one who wanted to ride had the chance to spend some time on this fun machine. Plus, I just felt pretty cool running around the lake on that thing - shades on, iPod - earphones blaring, wind in my hair....you get the drill. :) Having the family there for the week for seeing each other, having great conversations, laughing together, and watching our children love their families, each other, and us are priceless blessings.
All the while my friend Matt was back in Atlanta (Cumming) struggling in his fight with cancer. On Thursday evening, June 23, Matt went home to be with Jesus. I found out Friday morning, June 24, from his wife / best friend. She and his parents had requested a meeting the week prior to vacation to discuss funeral arrangements because all of us knew it would not be long. It wasn't. We held Matt's funeral on Tuesday, June 28, and heard from 5 people during the service about this great man, this great husband and father and friend. I miss him terribly and as I sit here typing I can see his smiling face, hear his encouraging voice, and laugh inside at his humorous antics. The blog I wrote about "everyone I meet today is really dying...how many are really living" was written just after my final face-to-face meeting with Matt. Neither of us knew it would be the last.
Now to this week..
As we were with the family in South Carolina on vacation (June 19-26), we were hosting not just 12 of the Lewis and Adams family members, but #13 was with us but we didn't know what to call him or her because the gender of Suzanne and Nathan's #3 (to be born in November) was unknown. Not any more! While we were playing with Evan and Jonathan at the Wilshire Park in Gainesville, Wednesday, June 29, Nathan and Suzanne were at the doc's office finding out the gender of our grandchild #6. Pink is our new favorite color. We would have been equally thrilled with boy #3, but it is cool for them to be having a girl to add to the family. She'll have two big brothers to watch over her!!!
Our Father continues to supply our needs according to the ways He has chosen, but one thing is for sure. Every day is a day of prayer and provision for the needs of the day, and we want to learn more gratitude for all of it and especially to Him Who loves us so much to care enough to give us life in Jesus and provision for life here and hereafter. We are blessed!
"Not down or out".
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