Stacy

In him [Jesus] we live and move and have our being. —Acts 17:28a

What tidbits would I share with someone I hadn’t seen since last Thanksgiving?

I identify with Peter who spied Jesus in the storm at sea (Matthew 14:22-33). When I keep my gaze focused on Jesus and His sovereignty, it is well with my soul. When my focus drifts to the storms of life, I feel myself drowning and cry out to the Lord for help.

From December ’24 to early April ’25, my chosen assignment was to advocate for and chauffeur Bob’s father, Grandpa Ron, to a multitude of appointments and four hospitalizations as he was too weak to drive. He battled kidney failure, severe anemia, peritonitis, pneumonia, Clostridioides difficile infection, falls, inguinal hernia, and more. As if that weren’t enough, we also suffered emotional trauma as we simultaneously battled the dialysis establishment when their prescription and procedures were causing harm. To the end Grandpa Ron proved consistently to be a man of fortitude and humor who cared about everyone around him. He wanted to know where each of his grandchildren stood with the Lord. He asked nurses about their families and career stories. At the hospice home when he’d barely spoken all day, Grandpa responded to our “Good night” with a softly spoken “Hasta mañana.” That caught us all off guard and got a good laugh.

When I was assured Grandpa Ron would be cared for by a nurse friend, I took a needed respite in Anderson, IN, where Verla & John worked a musical tech week performing Leviathan in March. Ruth played violin. Bob, Ruth & Zach sang for the professional sound track recording. Evie & Steven ask me to play Leviathan songs every time we are in the car.

In May my mom returned from Florida with a golf-ball-sized lump near her right clavicle that had developed since January. What a relief to find out that it wasn’t cancer but was a breast implant on the move! It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that prompted removal surgery, which revealed a vast amount of debris and inflammation from the old implants. The 5-star surgeon conducts research on Breast-Implant-Associated ALCL and Breast Implant Illness. Mom was home walking around her neighborhood and eating normally the day after her surgery!!!

It’s a deep delight to have time and freedom to connect regularly with my children and grandchildren. When I speak of my children, that encompasses my octet and my beloved sons-in-law. Every one of them strives for excellence and shoulders significant responsibilities. Our home is Grand Central Station with family coming and going. Grandchildren light up the space. We see them developing individual interests and personality bents. Several times I met up with Hannah and the five youngsters in her charge at the community pool. Her little charges became more of my grandchildren.

In the fall Bob & I enjoy John & Verla’s cross-country meets where we chase our runners around the course to cheer for them and the whole team with other parents. This was a stunningly successful year for both teams. It will be tough to beat. The spray bottle became my icon—used to mist sweaty runners, combat my own hot flashes, and give to grandchildren.

Our world changed again when my babies earned their driver’s licenses in October! Verla has been waiting for this for years!!!

In the winter Bob & I relish seeing the fruit of John and Soren’s labor at VEX robotic competitions. John is the dedicated programmer who writes 15- and 60-second autonomous routines. At the Purdue VEX Sigbot event on Nov. 15, John’s autonomous skills routine captured 54 points taking first place and was 9 points above the second place finisher among the 15 teams that entered the exceedingly difficult challenge. Thirty other teams weren’t prepared to attempt it. The qualifying matches are loud and intense with four driver-directed robots zipping around the field for 1 minute & 45 seconds in aggressive offense and defense. We are so excited for the rest of the season that runs through April.

When I have quiet time at home, I listen in on Cedarville University’s student chapel. It links me to Ben and what’s going on at his school. Some favorites this season have been President Thomas White preaching through Mark, Christopher Yuan’s Homosexuality: Texts and Hermeneutics Part 1 and Part 2, Rosaria Butterfield’s The 5 Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age and How LGBTQ+ Became the Reigning Idol of Our Day, Dr. Trevin Wax’s Do You Want To Be Healed?, Jack Phillips’s The Cost of My Faith, and Pastor Jason Wing’s Why We’re Here.

Aunt Narda didn’t want to lug a 5# bag of artisan bread flour on her move to California, so she left it with me saying, “I really like the recipe on the back.” Thus commenced my season of learning to make super-simple no-knead artisan bread.

Books that I recommend this year are:

• Happy Lies by Melissa Dougherty. Not everything that sounds attractive is true or helpful.
• How We Love: Discover Your Love Style, Enhance Your Marriage by Milan & Kay Yerkovich. The workbook is also helpful. This is a general-purpose communication manual good for everyone. They name categories of controller/victim, avoider, pleaser, vacillator, and secure connector and explain how one’s childhood set patterns for relating. Lots of aha moments about myself, Bob, and my children as I read this. And, yes, it did enhance our marriage.
• One other book I’m not naming bumped me out of a bad rut and indirectly led me to the Yerkovich book. I’m happy to discuss with friends one-on-one.
• Be Your Own Doctor: 101 Stories, An Informative Guide to Herbal Home Health Care by Rachel Weaver. I’ve been devouring this user-friendly guide, buying new products, and testing things such as apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, activated charcoal, slippery elm, castor oil, cloves, comfrey, onion, garlic, flaxmeal, red raspberry leaf, lavender, etc. Wish I’d known how to use these things decades ago, but this wasn’t part of traditional nursing school.

It’s been a bittersweet year since last Thanksgiving: no graduations, weddings, or new grandbabies, but lots of cherished memories with our larger family and friends. I am thankful to God for his tender mercies.