Christmas 2007

Unto you is born this day...
a Savior, which is Christ the LORD

Dear Friends in Christ:

As it is written, "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away" (Ps. 90:10). We have reached that plateau, and are keenly aware of the frailty of life in the flesh. In consequence we are the more deeply grateful for the hope of eternal life afforded us through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and certified by His resurrection from the dead.

The year was very routine - our travels pretty much limited to church, grocery shopping and the inevitable doctor’s appointments - until two weeks before Thanksgiving, when Miriam suddenly lost her mobility altogether and I was obliged to send her to the hospital via the E.R. Two weeks in the hospital were followed by eight days in a rehab facility, during which she showed little improvement. The day finally came when it was necessary for her to be hospitalized again, in the ICU for several days, eleven days altogether. Two days ago (12/12/’07) she was released to another rehab facility especially equipped to treat pulmonary diseases. She is diagnosed with "restrictive and constrictive pulmonary disease," struggling to breathe and inclined to incessant sleepiness. Only the Lord knows what the future holds, but at this moment things do not look promising for her recovery. We do know Who holds the future, and we know that He does all things well!

As the Lord’s providence would have it, Sue and Doug had planned to be with us during what proved to be the first week of her hospitalization, and son-in-law Ange had scheduled a holiday with us for the month of December, and is here now, all have been a great help and encouragement. In France Ange pursues his medical career covering part time for several doctors in mountain villages in Provence. David and Linda and Sue and Doug all remain busy in the same enterprises as last year: David at University of Buffalo, Linda teaching French in high school, Sue in nursing and Doug in computer programming. All continue active in their respective churches, and we are grateful to the Lord for all of them.

Our prayer for each of you is that you may have had a joyful Christmas and will have a New Year under the government and blessing of His Holy Spirit. Apart from individual needs and concerns, these are “perilous times,” morally and spiritually at least, and we need more than ever to “walk worthy of the Lord,” abiding in Christ and insulated from the evils from which for now we cannot be isolated. MARANATHA!!

Sincerely in Christ,

...in Whom we have redemption through His blood