Family and Communion

Today Good Wife Sue and I took Lorna to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis to see Lorna's hubby, Earl. Earl was transferred to BJC on Monday evening, from Salem, after they suspected that he had internal bleeding. We arrived just a few minutes after Pepe Kay, Earl's daughter from Valdosta, GA did. Pepe Kay is a medical professional and will keep to good close watch on what the folks at BJC are doing, but both Pepe Kay and Sandy (Earl's son) said that from what they had seen so far, the staff at BJC is superb. That's great news.

After we visited for a while, we emptied the tray table and I set up my portable Communion Kit. Then the six of us celebrated Holy Communion. Earl sat up in a chair, which was great to see, since he couldn't walk yesterday.

All of us are wondering if all of the excitement at Earl's 90th birthday parties (note the plural) simply exhausted him. I know that he has his share of the kind of ailments that seem, all too often, to be caused simply by aging. At least that is what we are hoping and praying for, since then physical therapy and meds can help him back on track.

Of course, growing older once one enters the "elderly" category is not just a simple thing. Getting enough exercise grows more difficult - even with gentle nagging from family and friends. Even relatively small illnesses begin to carry greater risk, since the body cannot respond the way it did when we were 35 or 40 years old. And sometimes older people grow into the attitude that it will all end soon, so I might just as well accept it and "go with the flow." I don't think Earl is in any of these categories - he is just too vibrant a man.

Good Wife Sue and I often joke about the differences in our personalities. She likes to leave the party early. So we joke about having her tombstone say, "Well, it's time to leave." I, on the other hand, love to stick around and talk. My tombstone should say, "Wait a minute! I'm not done!"

But as eternal people, just visiting this life, this body, this time, we need to be reconciled to the cycle of life that lets us one day pass from here to there. And we hope and pray that "there" is what Jesus Christ has hinted to us that it will be. We need to accept that the door will be opened to us, if only we will walk through it when the time comes.

I'm a strange mixture of the scientific person, humanly philosophical, and expectantly theological. In that place I find no fear for the future, but linger lovingly to learn even more about this creation of God's we call home. And I specially linger in the love of my wife, my family, and my church family. I pray that all of you also linger in love, and

Have sweet dreams and be blessed by God. TAD+