God's Blessings

God blesses all of us in countless individual and corporate ways. Since Steve left on August 15, I have been blessed to be a part of my daughter's nesting experience as she waited for the birth of her son Henry. After doing a significant amount of organizing at home, she turned her attention to organizing at our church building. Jessica almost singlehandedly arranged for a church work day. She wrote a list of jobs and asked various people for suggestions. Jess talked to any number of people about being a part of that day. She shared with them about what would happen. She asked the right man to supervise. She and I put up a bulletin board about the day. In the past only the same few people have come. When this work day arrived complete with food Jessica arranged, twenty five people came to work together. When the day was done, the building looked great. Those of us who came that day blessed each other as we accomplished our tasks and our building looked like something we could feel good about.

I'm looking forward to Steve coming home on Saturday. He was able to spend a few days at the mission in Nakaale. Some of the people like Al Tricarico he knew well before he arrived. Other people at the mission he either just met or knew them before but this was his first opportunity to get to really know them. Our phone calls have been short and somehow incomplete. I'm eager to hear all the ways God used Steve to bless others as well as the ways he was blessed by them. In Mbale I'm sure it must have been amazing to work with men whom he taught 6 years ago and now they are pastors.

Yesterday Jessica had the grand experience of seeing that all her pain and discomfort were worth it as she looked into the face of her little but not so little son. (9lbs. 9Oz., 22 1/2 in. long) What a blessing to hold Henry and know that what she went through produced such joy. Even without my husband and my oldest daughter I was still blessed by my son Josh, my daughter by marriage, Karin and their two boys, Matthew and Jacob. Although he could not be there for the birth of Jessica's son, Chris spent time with her and her family after work.

Life is full and I'm sure God has many blessings of various shapes, sizes and circumstances for us in the near and not so near future. Oh yes it is time to order another Christmas stocking this time for Henry. Christmas 2012 we will need another stocking. There will be plenty of time to discover what Karin and Josh will name their third child

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