Remembering

Last year, at just about this time, a doctor pulled me out of Bill's hospital room and said, "Call whoever needs to see Bill, and call whoever you need to come and support you. He's bleeding internally, and we're going to try really hard--but he could die."

We knew something had been brewing--he hadn't been feeling well since Thanksgiving--but that day he had been very uncomfortable, so we went down to the hospital. In the aid car. And that night they discovered a GIST tumor that was bleeding, and was also conveniently located on top of an artery connected to his aorta.

After they moved him to ICU, and had him hooked up to a hose of lifesaving blood, he started whispering instructions to me. I debated in my mind: If I listen to him too closely, he's going to think that I think he's dying. Then maybe he'll just up and do that...which will be bad. So maybe I should try and convince him that he's going to be fine, and then maybe he will be...which will be good. So I told him he was going to be fine, and to quit telling me what to do with the mortgage. And then we prayed. I prayed, our kids prayed, and then many of you prayed--a lot. And God saved his life that night.

For seven weeks we continued praying as Bill went through one stomach surgery, and then another, and then another. Finally, on February 5th, he came home. He was back to work at the end of February, and back to his old self sometime in April.

My point in telling you this is: no one knows when their time here on earth is up. We might have some warning, or we might not. But one thing's for sure--we're all going to die. Bill almost died last December 11th. And if he had, he would have been immediately present with the Lord. He has that confidence, as does anyone who has put their trust, not in their good works, but in the work that Jesus did on the cross.

It's good for me to remember this at Christmas as I'm rushing around shopping or whatever it is I'm doing that often doesn't matter in the eternal scheme of things. I need to quiet my mind and remember--Jesus came to earth to save me from my sins, to walk with me through this life, and to give me hope that when my time here on earth is done, I will be with Him forever. It's the greatest gift of all.

Jean

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11