The Ups and Downs of Life

If you're anything like me, you may be feeling just a little topsy-turvsy after the excitement of the holidays.  There were both joyous moments and moments filled with sadness and grief.  We had a wonderful time with family here for the holidays.





 



There were lots of smiles...



And lots of fun seeing the sparkling lights...





We even ran into Santa at this house.



But, there were too many sad memories, too.  It just didn't feel right to have an empty chair where Father should be sitting.  And then on New Year's Eve, Uncle Bob, who shared a birthday with Father, crossed over into heaven to join his brother.  So, as we approach Jay's birthday this weekend, we look forward to having fun and celebrating.  But, we will also mourn the loss of his uncle as we say, "Farewell!" at his memorial service the next day.

We're thankful that Jay's sister is responding so well to her cancer treatments!  Here's a picture of Doreen at Penny's graduation almost two years ago.



But, now we were upset to hear that as they were staying at a hotel in the Denver metro area for her radiation treatments, someone stole their car from the hotel parking lot yesterday morning.  This news came after some exciting news that we have been officially approved to go out on a short-term trip to Japan.  Thus, you can understand why I say it seems that lately we've had so many ups and downs.  But, isn't that just part of life?  I liked what Pastor Nate shared in the New Year's Day sermon.  My favorite quote was this one:  "God will be steadfast.  But, He will also be surprising!"  So, in this New Year, with it's many ups and downs, let's just remember that God will be there always for us in the midst of those ups and downs with His steadfast love.  But, He may also surprise us with unexpected blessings in ways that we never would have imagined.