Showing posts with label personal note. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal note. Show all posts

July 16, 2009

Thirty Years




This past week we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. When we told people how many years we have been married, their jaws would drop! They are not used to people staying together for that many years.


In this society it is common for a man and woman to begin a family, but after a number of years, the man (usually) leaves this family unit and joins together with another woman. They begin a new family. This cycle just continues and repeats itself. After some time, the abandoned woman may find a new man and begin a second family with him. Families become a very entangled web. So, when you ask someone about their family they have to think about it for a moment. The most common response is to tell you how many siblings they have with the same mother and then rattle off how many half-brothers and sisters they have through subsequent parental unions.


Did you ever think that simply staying married could be a way to witness to the world? Being faithful to your spouse is a reflection of God's faithfulness to us and to to his promises. With God's help and blessing, every Dominican couple that is confirmed in the Lutheran church becomes a witness to their family and to the people around them of God's faithfulness to us and of the faithfulness that he desires from us toward our spouse.

The concept of faithfulness is not very strong here, so it is a struggle for many to not give up and take the easy way out and follow the example that society gives them. It is not easy for them because they have not seen faithfulness in action, and it is not easy for us because sin and pride get in the way. But together, we are all asking God to increase our faith and trust in His faithfulness and help us be faithful to Him so we can be his witnesses to the world. We want to give thanks and praise to Him who shows us his faithfulness every day.

February 3, 2009

Another personal note

Dear friends,
My brother Daniel, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Yorba Linda, CA, wrote a blog entry about our mother and God's grace to her and our family. I invite you to read it by clicking on the following link:

Pastor's blog, Grace Lutheran Church, Yorba Linda, CA.

The Lord bless you with his peace in Jesus,
NW

February 1, 2009

A personal note

     God sent his holy angels to carry my mother to her Savior's side this Sunday morning, 2:00am Arizona time. The following note is from my father Myrl:

Dear Loved Ones,
     Our gracious LORD in His good time called Marcella [Marcy, Mom, Grandma, Aunt] home to Himself in heaven at 2:00 AM on February 1, 2009. The LORD granted her 70 years of sojourn in this world, and through the blood of Jesus grants her eternal life with Him. She has been on hospice care since January 6, and totally bed-ridden for two weeks. The hospice program kept her comfortable except for the painful coughing fits about once a day. After a very bad night on Monday, we have used meds to keep her comfortable. She went to sleep Friday evening -- after saying goodby to her brother and a cousin who visited on Thursday.
     Resting her confidence in our Savior, she said goodby to her brother with, "I'll see you again in heaven." She was a 24 year survivor of breast cancer, and endured four years on chemotherapy. She was a 41 + 1/2 year survivor of marriage to me. What a wonderful wife!
     Her earthly remains will be cremated without further viewing. We are planning a "Victory Celebration" at Grace Lutheran Church in Casa Grande, Arizona. The timing on this will depend on when Nathan and Julie can get in from Dominican Republic and Mexico. If I can work it out, I would like to also celebrate her life with many of you in some way both in Texas and Wisconsin.
     Join me in praising God for all His blessings on our life and on our family.
Love,  Myrl

The Lord bless you with his peace, just as he is blessing our family with peace, comfort, and sure hope through Christ's resurrection,
NW