A Very Merry Christmas

I hope you had a blessed Christmas. This one will likely be my last. Come to think of it, I said that last Christmas. Hmmm, and the Christmas before that. I think I’ve said that every Christmas since I was diagnosed in 2019. I guess the laugh is on me. But one of these Christmases I’ll get it right. Yet, like the boy who cried ‘wolf’ (see last month’s entry), I think I’ll get it right this year.

It’s funny how I’ve gone through my supplies. I recall wanting to buy Q-tips several years ago from Walmart. But the lowest count box they had was 500. I thought, “I’ll never go through 500 Q-tips before my ‘promotion’.” Well, I finished that box 2 years ago and I’m about finished with its replacement. Same goes for my socks, printer ink, and other items I use regularly.

If this was my last Christmas, it was well celebrated with cards, calls, letters, and visits from family and friends. Although I’m about 2 hours from Fort Worth, that didn’t stop David and his family, Sara and her husband from making a couple of visits this past week. I was blessed with visits from former missionaries and calls from Filipino friends. And of course, there’s the daily lively entertainment provided by my dear grandchildren.

Some folks make it a tradition to send out a Christmas letter to family and friends. As you can see, I’ve made a habit to send-out this newsletter the first of each month. I also write a letter to each of my children on their birthdays, reminding them of why each one is precious to me and how deeply I love each one. This Christmas, I also made it a point to talk to my grandkids about Heaven. Although they may miss Grandpa when he’s gone, they need not grieve as do others who don’t have the certainty of hope hidden deep in their hearts due to the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

As for my health, Christmas week brought me a couple of episodes of high blood pressure and dizzy spells, along with my on-going issues with edema, nausea, shortness-of-breath, and digestion. These were accompanied by the continual contentment I feel from the Prince of Peace and the daily inward joy I experience from the Joy Giver that will culminate on my Promotion day, a Christmas day that I will treasure for eternity.