Death ~ Birth ~ Life
It has been a week that reminds us of the continuing, fragile threads of life.
We received the news of Mary Jane’s death shortly after 10:00 p.m. Sunday night. This was not a surprise, because she had been in a Hospice facility for the past few weeks.
When Mary Jane’s husband, Bud, died (almost five years ago), he asked Jeff and Chris to take good care of her. Bud and Mary Jane’s only child – a son – died in Vietnam, so Jeff and Chris’s family became her family, and consequently part of our broader family. It was like God gave our children and grandchildren another mother/grandmother.
She delighted in having Jeff and Chris’ family as her neighbors.
She loved gardening or seeing other people’s gardens.
We will be saying our final goodbyes to her body tonight and tomorrow – and celebrating her life – while she rejoices in Heaven.
Keep us – especially Jeff & Chris’ family – in your prayers.
Early Tuesday morning I called Jeff to wish him a happy birthday. I remember that wonderful day (forty-seven years ago) when we were quite young. He was our first baby.
Then, just before sunrise on Tuesday, I received news via email and Facebook that our nephew and his wife (Japheth and Aimee Stauffer) welcomed a new baby girl into their family.
Lily Hope Stauffer
Several hours later a niece and her husband (Crystal and Jakey Feltch) welcomed Bailey Ella into their family.
Another exciting event of the day happened when our granddaughter Jenna passed her drivers test. That means half of our sixteen grandchildren are driving on their own. (We expect to hear the same news from Hezekiah before long.)
The ordinary thread of life also continued when we went to Oregon Dairy for lunch today with about two dozen other relatives – the Sauder family.
Following lunch we went next door to get a few groceries.
Kristen had a meeting this afternoon, so we enjoyed having Jesse with us. He liked helping grandpa take groceries to the car.
The threads of life can be dark or light, dull or brilliant, but somehow when God has woven them all together, our life becomes a beautiful tapestry.
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