December 19

There are just a few days left to Christmas. Are you all ready? I must be honest, this has been a particularly rough week for Dennis and me. Amongst the joys of spending time with family and friends, we have experienced three deaths this week in our family back in Spokane. When I was a teenager and I worked in a nursing home with the elderly, we always said that death comes in threes. Seriously. It always came in threes. This week was no exception.  None of them passed from Covid. Just thought I’d put that out there right away.

First was a wonderful gentleman named Glade, who was a member of the church in Spokane. We had known Glade since our very first week of living there. He was a wonderful Bible believing man whose wife died several years ago. Glade was in his 90’s.

Then, on Thursday, our adopted mom Pearl died, with her daughter Debbie holding her hand. Pearl was Neal and Debbie‘s mom. They also have a brother Ralph. As you all know from previous posts, Neal and his wife Jenny are our very best friends. I have also grown close to Debbie over the years and we have spent time with Ralph at different family gatherings. Pearl has endured the last two years of almost constant lockdown in a Spokane nursing facility. Those lockdowns are super hard on people and places like that. She wasn’t even allowed to leave her room for the longest time. Her mental state declined and her physical state followed quickly. Pearl treated us like her very own kids and we loved her like a mother. She was a wonderful, wonderful lady and will be dearly missed by many. Pearl was 87 years young and had a huge smile and a bigger heart.

Then, just this morning as we arrived at our Sunday school class, we received a text that our longtime minister in Spokane had died. We knew it was eminent. Mark went on hospice on Monday when he had to stop dialysis because of various reasons. How fast things happened once the dialysis stopped! I can’t even begin to put into words what Mark meant to both Dennis and I. We were such great friends. He had the biggest booming laugh and the best sense of humor. And his singing voice? All I could think as we were singing in church this morning was that now Mark was singing with the great angelic choir and how wonderful it must sound to him. Mark had the biggest heart of anyone I know. And I seriously mean anyone I know. He would give the shirt off his back to anybody that needed it. His compassion knew no end. My heart breaks for his wife Karen and their three daughters. He was just one year older than my Dennis. Much too young to take his servant heart away at a time when this world needs it the most. 

You know how people always say nice things about people when they die and make them sound like they are a saint? I am not exaggerating any of this about Mark.  He was truly one of the kindest, most sincere and loving people I have ever known. He will be deeply missed.

So, life is not all a bed of roses here this Christmas. We also have two family members that are fighting Covid, although they both seem a little better than they were earlier in the week. We believe it’s the new omicron variant and yes, they have both been fully vaccinated and boostered. This is their second round of Covid. They had it a year ago last March, when this whole thing first began and now they have it again. It makes you wonder what anybody really knows about this virus doesn’t it?

So, with a heart that is rejoicing that all three of these wonderful Christian people are now in heaven with their Lord and Savior and rejoicing that their pain and time on this earth is over, my heart still hurts for their families that are left behind. Especially at this time of year.

I only have one photo to share with you today and that’s of my Advent stocking contents. I have had this sweet little snowman since before Dennis and I got married and the candy was a welcome gift this morning. I needed chocolate.

I’m so happy that we have more than this life to look forward to. I know I will see all three of these wonderful people again someday. I’m sorry if this has been a downer of a post, but I am just trying to keep it it real here. Real life does happen sometimes doesn’t it?  I did get a little knitting done today so far, but very little. It’s not even worth showing you about half of a sock cuff.

Wishing you all a wonderful remainder of your day and I’ll try to be more cheerful tomorrow. 

Blessings,💜

Betsy