I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Almost all eight of our kids and grandkids will be here in the next few weeks. Of the 45 total in our family, 40 will be here. It is funny how you get used to them being gone, but when they come back to visit, it is a major source of joy. We poured our life into those kids with the goal that they would move away, get married, have kids, and do their own thing, but it is sure fun when they come back for a visit. A major blessing for us is that I grew up in a very healthy family, and Patty did as well. Our own family was unified and loving, and each of our kids has a family that is close and abounding in love for each other. As a Pastor, I have seen so many very dysfunctional families, especially in this day where there are so many drug and alcohol problems. We have worked hard to have a good marriage and raise good kids who love Jesus, and all the work we put into that was well worth the effort.

So far, we have been fortunate that my parents and Patty’s parents dying has been the only major crisis of any kind in our family, with no significant sickness or accidents. It is only a matter of time before a major crisis happens to someone; we know that, that is how life is, but we have the hope of eternal life coming up. So many people don’t have that hope; I don’t know how they manage cancer and other severe diseases and unexpected death.