One Year Later - Dinner #80

One Year Later

     Today, I pull out the comforting purple blanket from the hospital, and I pray, thanking God for all He has brought us through.  We talk at breakfast about what this last year in Heaven might have been like for Joshua. I look through the photos and the memory box.  I remember the loving midwife, the nurses, our family, and our friends.  I recall those who told us they were praying for us; those who wrote us messages and sent us cards; those who washed our dishes, and brought over taco salad, or dinosaur chicken nuggets for our girls; those who reached out to us with precious remembrance gifts like wind chimes and necklaces . . . I praise God for His Word, and for the great hymns of others who found the comfort of the Lord in great sorrow.  I thank God for His loving care - that He “is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Ps. 145:9) Today, I think back over this past year, and I say, “Look, with me, at what God alone could have done . . .”

This Year In My Life

2017

This year has been one of the most incredible I have ever known. 

With my heart, I have felt the grief and the pain of sorrow, and have known the peace, the comfort, and the healing of my God.

With my eyes, I have seen the waves of Lake Eerie, the mountains of West Virginia, and the rice paddies of Indonesia.

I have smelled the aroma of ginger, turmeric, and peanut sauce, as we’ve experienced the flavors of other parts of the world.

I’ve stood at the mouth of a volcano, ridden on a motor bike, and watched two of my girls place their trust in Jesus Christ. 

My mind has been filled with Bible verses, with candidate school lessons, with missions advice, and with facts regarding Southeast Asia.

My hands have planted wildflowers, built sandcastles, and packed and unpacked suitcases, dozens of times. 

I’ve had opportunities to sing God’s praises, to encourage women, and to share with children, as we’ve presented missions work in numerous churches across the Eastern United States.

I have listened to the voices of preachers and preachers’ wives – have heard their burden for the lost, their dedication to their congregations, and their love for missions all over the world.

2017 has been BLESSED in ways I never could have imagined.  I have seen God at work – in my own life, in the life of my family, and in the universe around me.

As we near the celebration of Christmas, I am thankful for the gift of EXPERIENCE.  God has given me LIFE, and it is a blessed life, indeed. 

May the Lord bless each one of you, as you celebrate the birth of His Son, and as you enter the new and coming year!

With Love in Christ,

Kristen Kelley