HE LIVES...Jackie too

Oops, you caught Jackie at her favorite place lately--the hospital. This was the 2nd day after her knee replacement surgery. Doesn't she look happy, on her way to good health? This photo was taken before the nerve that had been turned off was turned back on. Boy, what a difference it made in her pain level after that nerve came back to life. It's been a very difficult two weeks since this photo but seeing it's been two weeks we are thinking that it's going to be better soon. Tuesday she gets the 32 staples out of her knee and that should be a big help. They are gold and you can see her coming in the sunlight quite easily. She got back to her crutches 3 days ago and has been ordered to walk out in the front of our house twice a day. Let me take a personal moment with those who live in north Florida, where we live. Dr. Northrop at Florida Sports Medicine Institute (FSMI) was the one who initially looked at Jackie's knee and injected the dye into her knee. Dr. Duffy of Heekin Orthopedic did the surgery to repair the damage caused by that procedure. He said that Jackie's knee was so destroyed from the infection that she got at FSMI she would have never been able to use it again and that is why he replaced her knee. We've since been told by doctors, nurses and physical therapists that our experience at FSMI is not unique and there have been many others. Our response is to forgive and move on. I trust you will learn from our experience should you ever need a good orthopedic doctor. We highly recommend Dr. Duffy.

On to happier thoughts. In our pursuit of going from glory to glory, we find ourselves in the Lent season for the Orthodox church. Orthodox is eastern as opposed to the western way of thinking and as such don't celebrate Christ's resurrection on the same date as Protestants and Roman Catholics. There are no hidden mysteries about this--it has to do with the cycles of the moon and how they are measured to determine time. Beyond me. But that means for us we are still in the Lenten season and headed for Pascha, the celebration of Christ's resurrection on April 27th. There are many feasts and celebrations prior to it and we were fortunate to participate in a couple of them before the surgery slowed us down. There was "forgiveness Sunday," which was awesome. Our whole church had a special time of forgiveness where everyone in the church asked and extended forgiveness to each other. I was amazed to see that our Priest, Fr. Ted, on the ground bowed to each of the flock asking their forgiveness. It was not what we were used to seeing in church. Humility is a good thing and it's especially beautiful on God's servants (and Priests!).

Here's Leah and Zack playing with eggs on the "other Easter."

We were also at a special service that had to do with repentance. We used a wonderful liturgy that was written by Saint Andrew and it took us on a journey using biblical imagery that became personal. It went from creation to "my creation" to the fall to "my fall" to redemption to "my redemption" and I think you get the point. I'm glad I write to people who are much smarter than me! It was a glorious hour of singing, chanting and repenting. And we all know that humility begins with repentance, "changing our mind." When we change our minds about who we think we are--I am #1--and making the prayer of the Publican our own, "Have mercy on me, a sinner," we take a bold step toward humility.
That's Jake, Zack and Elijah, our grandsons.

Something that has helped me considerably in this quest for becoming more and more like Christ has been my age. As I have gotten older I have started seeing more clearly the mistakes I have made along the way. There's fruit growing now that I planted 25, 35, 45 years ago and it's not the kind of fruit you take to the market and sell. I can see faults and flaws in my walk with Christ that are a result of things I planted years ago. I can see how stupid some of my decisions really were before I became a Christian and how they now impact my life. Although I often feel like I've lived about 10 different lives, each with a beginning and and ending, I know the truth is life is one long string of events and decisions that have impact on each other and mold us into who we are. The good news is that we can make decisions now that help turn our lives in a better and more glorious direction. Some things won't change, but by God's grace and mercy others will. The underlying foundation of our lives, Christ Himself the Cornerstone, holds us up and through His great promises to meet our needs and care for us, we can live above the worries and cares of the world--regardless of mistakes made! I still haven't made it to that point that I can honestly say I'm not overly concerned about where we will be living in 5 years. I know it's dumb, but it's something Jackie and I think about. Why? It's because of some of the less than brilliant decisions I made when I was younger (and older). You know, spend all your inheritance on sailboats, toys, cars and trips instead of investing it in, say, education or in something that might have been good for when you get into your 60s and your youthful strength that you have used to earn money has left you. We personified the American dream with instant gratification. Oh well...we make adjustments and look to Christ who redeems us.

When I was typing Leah walked in and told me I was sitting in a rainbow. You can't see it very well in the photo but the whole corner where the computer sits was lit up. Cool.

We also continue in prayer for some very precious people in our lives. In the last month there has been 3 deaths--not in our family but of friends'. Friends with cancer, friends with all sorts of special requests and needs and friends who, like you, just want to "know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." We take it as a great honor that we are counted as worthy friends to these for whom we pray. As we make our way to Christ's eternal kingdom, don't forget to look around and lift up those who are in need. One mark of humility is to count our lives as sacrifices for our friends (and enemies). Jesus said that great love is to lay your life down for others. I've noticed that I don't even want to lay down my personal happiness for others much more my life! As we struggle together don't forget that the struggle leads to God. It's worth it. Blessings to you all....