Afternoon Everyone!
I am writing this email from Virginia. We are spending some time with our grandson Austin while his mom and dad are away. It’s great having all the grandkids together and filling up the house on holidays, but it is also nice just hanging out with one grandchild at a time. Austin had his 17th birthday yesterday – I’m seeing these wonderful qualities in him that I had overlooked when he was just one of the crew. He’s a great cook – very polite and funny. But getting out of the bed in the morning is not his strongest suit. He gets up at a last minute 7:30 and is out of the house by ten ‘til. Amazing!
Our son Joey met April while we lived here in Richmond. So their house is not far from where we lived. It’s so strange going back to a place you have lived before. Things are both new and yet so very familiar. And memories just keep popping up from nowhere around every bend in the road. I expect our lives are the same, don’t you? The wondrous thing about God’s grace is that when the memories are not good, when we have not been who we could have been, we don’t have to hold on to the “we” we were then. God has forgiven us. We have learned and grown and gone on down the road. Every little smidgen of life is a lesson and when we let life teach us, we grow closer and closer to the person Christ is creating.
“Do not fear” is what I’m trying to say. God has this thing under control. As long as we seek his face, he will lead us. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Please pray for us as we drive home tomorrow. I am looking so forward to seeing you on Sunday! We will be dedicating our boxes for Murphy Harpst and praying especially for the kids and the staff there in Cedartown. When I think back on living here, my memory is of our three children sitting around the table, together and safe. Thinking about the residents of places like Murphy Harpst reminds us that all kids don’t have the luxury of a safe and loving home. They depend on the rest of us to help them see the love of Christ. Thank you for your willingness to do just that.
Love you all!
Rev. Martha