Stunned

We first climbed Hanging Rock 11 years ago. Afterwards we looked for a place to camp for the night, but every place was full. We had almost given up when I saw a tiny board sign by a narrow lane that said, "Campground." We turned around and drove up the winding lane to the top of a "bald," a bare patch on top of a wooded mountain. Sure enough, there was a campground, and they squeezed us in. At dusk the mountain folks drove in with fiddles and guitars for pickin' and strummin'. During a lull, someone asked us where we were from, noticing our Yankee accent I guess. Hearing I'd spent my childhood in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a lovely woman came rushing over to say her grandmother had lived there. Well, the conversation continued, and we agreed to meet her and her husband for breakfast the next morning. After a LONG and wonderful time at the table, they said, "This is too good to end. Please stop at our house on your way back to Charlotte." (Their home is in a city about 2 hours from us.) We did, of course, and have been friends ever since.

We made plans to join them for lunch after church this coming Sunday. Last evening a message on our answering machine asked us to call their house as soon as possible. To our great sorrow, we learned that the husband had been killed in a tractor accident on Thursday. We feel a terrible sense of loss personally, and of course the greatest loss is what's being felt by his widow and children and grandchildren. I can't tell you how sweet and dear these people are. So now we'll be driving up there on Sunday as planned, but to a funeral home rather than a restaurant--to grieve rather than rejoice. He never hid his strong faith in Christ, and we believe we'll see him again in heaven.

Thank God for hope!

I'm thankful for all of you who continue to pray for my tumor marker numbers to drop, and for the many notes and calls of celebration at yesterday's encouraging news. Let's ask God to cut those numbers by another 100 points next time (that would be 161), and eventually to pull them down to normal.

Thanks for praying for Fran's surgery. I was the "family member" who got to debrief with the surgeon afterwards, and he is positive that the cancer was totally contained and is now gone. Praise the Lord. I spoke with her at home last evening, and she was cheerful despite a certain level of pain. (Why do doctors and nurses insist on calling it "discomfort"?) Another friend is staying with her.

You can see by the posted time that we slept longer than usual this morning. (By the way, Blogger forgot to set their clock back for daylight time, so the posted time is always an hour earlier than real.) A friend from Michigan is stopping in for a visit this morning, and this evening we're having dinner with friends.

Have a good day.
Carol