June 2018 Family Update

Mary and I were in the midst of our AIIA board-appointed sabbatical recently, quietly checking out a Native American Spring festival in downtown Bar Harbor, Maine, totally minding our own business, when I was suddenly ambushed by this Navajo Indian brave asking if he could have his picture taken with me!

Well, that’s technically true. But in the interest of full disclosure, there is the minor detail that I first asked him if I could have Mary snap a photo of the two of us. He agreed but then, when I mentioned that I might be tempted to tell people that it happened the other way around, he quickly obliged and actually did ask me for permission to pose with me. He said that way I would be telling the truth when I reported the story that way. Great idea. So I agreed, he handed me his gun, Mary snapped the photo above, and we all parted company with our scalps and integrity intact.

For a few moments that day, Christian apologetics was a thousand miles from my mind — and that, after all, is an important part of what sabbaticals are supposed to be all about, right? Breaking with routine. Gaining fresh perspectives. Clearing out cobwebs. Thinking new thoughts. Spending more time with God. Developing larger vision. Meeting Navajo Indian braves.

So thanks to all of you who have gotten behind us with gifts, prayers, and notes — encouraging us to make the most of this four-month hiatus. The time has been flying by and is now, alas, over half complete. How can I slow the clock down and lock this in?!

By mid-April we had reluctantly given up the idea of taking our long-anticipated trip West. But we have enjoyed a number of extended weekend trips right here in Maine. It’s been good, refreshing, and almost 100% positive EXCEPT for one black cloud — Mary’s impending open heart surgery (see previous blogs), which seems always to be hovering on the horizon, and edging ever closer.

With only one significant exception she has remained symptom-free. But as we await the results of her next echocardiogram in early July, we remain keenly aware that the cardiologist has projected late Summer or Fall as the time when symptoms will most likely begin to manifest. We’ll see. Meanwhile, the most pressing concern for me is arranging for reliable home care (for both of us) during the time that Mary is in the hospital and recovering for six weeks or so here in Monson. The majority of home care agencies are frustratingly short-staffed statewide here in Maine these days and, although we’ve had a few thoughtful volunteers step forward, we’ve thus far not been able to put a really certain plan in place. We’re determined to trust God in this, but I also believe that it is up to me to do what I can to make necessary arrangements. How difficult it has been to know how to balance the two.

Anyway — thanks once again for your continued interest in following along as the drama of this next chapter in our lives unfolds — and for your ongoing faithful support in prayer and otherwise.

Stay tuned by checking — or better yet subscribing to — this blog for updates on at least a monthly basis, or even sooner if or when there are any significant developments.