At the risk of boring you, I thought one of the best ways to help you settle this in your own heart would be to recap the most recent events of our lives. It's a little long, so bear with me, but I'm sure you'll identify with at least parts of it (hopefully with the conclusion, too!):
- March 25 - received word that my father-in-law was hospitalized in Florida (concern)
- March 26 - rode with my parents to Chicago to celebrate my son's (Jordan's) graduation (great family time)
- March 27 - drove back to North English in time to catch the English Valleys spring play (with numerous teens from our church involved)
- March 28 - after regular church services, hustled over to Highland Ridge Senior Living Community (where I chaplain) for our annual Memorial Service, remembering 21 residents who went to be with the Lord in the last 12 months
- March 28 - received word that my father-in-law's condition was becoming critical
- March 29 - flew my wife, Tonya, to Florida to join her mom & sister at her dad's bedside (time for my Mr. Mom hat - pizza every night!).
- March 30 - attended induction ceremony for my daughter, Hannah, into the National Honor Society (Tonya missed this, of course)
- March 30 - received word that Tonya's dad wasn't going to be leaving the hospital - ever
- March 31 - school conferences for both girls with great reports & compassion from the school staff
- April 1 - beautiful Maundy Thursday service with final Community Choir rehearsal for our Easter musical
- April 2 - received word that Tonya's dad passed away in the early hours of Good Friday
- April 2 - three Good Friday communion services at Highland Ridge with a touching community Tenebrae service later
- April 3 - Community Choir Easter musical @ Highland Ridge; food and cards begin pouring in
- April 4 - largest turnout in memory for Easter morning Resurrection service, with breakfast and Community Choir Easter musical performed
- April 4 - Tonya arrives back in Iowa (hurray!); entire extended Statler clan gathers at my parents' home for annual meal & Easter egg hunt
- April 5 - my 16-year-old daughter (Hannah) gets her driver's license
- April 5 - we celebrate my daughter's birthday with a new used car, homemade decorations and her favorite cheesecake!
- April 5 - my son, Jordan, has his first "real" job interview and is hired for his first "real" job on the spot (10 days after graduation) just 40 minutes from our home
- April 5 - determination is made to have funeral on Friday; I determine that we will not be back to Iowa for Sunday services (which means I have to "hand off" a Worship Committee meeting, church service, a Care Center service and an Interchurch Council meeting - good for me to do and covered wonderfully by caring, capable friends)
- April 6 - on pure faith, Jordan & I head to Oxford, Iowa, (20 minutes from his job) and find an unbelievable, unlisted apartment for him that we didn't even know existed when we left the driveway (a huge story here, but not the time or place to tell it all)
- April 7 - we leave for Indiana for Tonya's dad's (Bob's) funeral with 2 vehicles
- April 7 - we make the deposit for Jordan's apartment on the way to Indiana
- April 7 - we leave one vehicle at his current apartment in Chicago
- April 7 - we arrive in Indiana at 1:00 a.m. April 8 (I prepare a Powerpoint slideshow of Bob's life while Tonya drives; God saves us from a car accident)
- April 8 - spend the morning preparing for visitation; visitation for nearly 6 hours with hundreds in attendance
- April 9 - Bob's funeral with hundreds in attendance; the most beautiful service I've ever seen (Tonya & I both play supporting roles in this, and Tonya shares letters from our 3 kids written to Grandpa before his death)
- April 10 - spend the day going through Bob's things with his wife - discussing plans
- April 11 - drive back to Chicago, load my son's apartment into both vehicles (barely), then drive to Oxford where we unload it all after signing his lease (only his name)
- April 12 - I show up at Highland Ridge in hopes of catching up, only to have to move my office as we prepare to make more apartments for new residents
Was all that transpired fun & good? No way! Were parts of this hard at times? Unquestionably! Did it demand all we had? Every ounce! Did we see God's hand move in miraculous ways? More than you'll ever know from this blog!
Having finished an unbelievable 3 weeks, I and my family can tell you, with more confidence than ever, that indeed, "God is good, all the time!" As Jesus told the crowd at Lazarus' death in John 11, "If you believe, you will see the glory of God!"
P.S. No car accidents for Hannah, Jordan is moved into his own place and starts his new job on Monday!
