What's up with bad news, anyways?

"Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Job 2:10

Two people bask in the glow of a cozy, den fireplace.  Outside a cold, gray January sky swirls with snow.  One phone call and the man is forced into the night chill by a friend's roadside emergency.  The man labors all night in the cold to help his friend - even loaning his coat to the friend's daughter.  As daybreak approaches the hungry and chilled man returns to the warmth of his home. As he enters the house, warmth greets his cold frame.  A sense of peace and rest covers him.

His wife eagerly awaits his return but she does not understand the appreciation that her husband now has for the heat that this house brings.  Although she may also be grateful for the warmth of the fire, she has not experienced the cold and dark to the degree that her husband has.

I thought about this story recently as I contemplated why bad things happen to us.  I cannot explain all the reasons behind tragic losses, long-term illnesses or even seemingly premature deaths. It is comforting to know that through all the cold and hard times, we have a promise that at the end of it all, we can come and sit by an eternal fire never to return to the cold again.  The best part is the longer we have been in the dark and the colder the night has been, we will appreciate coming home to that fire all the more.


I am thankful for the intense experiences of cold so that I can have a better understanding and appreciation for the warmth in the future.

Reminiscence of Fall

Last night I sat on a plane from Chiang Mai headed for Bangkok.  My head ached, my stomach churned and my body would have felt better if I had been hit by a Mack truck.  Today, I called Bumrungrad Hospital home while I visited one doctor then another for completely unrelated medical problems.

Tonight I write to you from a sleepy little Baptist guest house at the end of a quiet road in a crowded and noisy Asian city.  A riverboat quietly drifts down a water canal not 20 feet from my window.  Maybe it was homesickness, maybe stomach sickness that drew me to glance back through pictures.  The picture above is one of my favorite memories of the last few years.

Last October, Jeff, Chloe, Ava and I bundled up and headed for the pumpkin patch in rural Oklahoma.  It's hard to remember what rural looks like after spending almost an entire year on an island with 8 times the population of Oklahoma crammed into an area of just two counties.

There is something mysterious and magical about fall- a whisper of a promise of good things to come. It's like a Braum's ice cream sundae. Halloween sits perched at the top like the cherry and is the first to be consumed.  Then Thanksgiving approaches and just like the last of the fudge beckoning from the bottom of the bowl to "eat me" we indulge in all manner of food and family cheer. The ice cream sandwiched between provides the substance to make memories.

In Thailand, there's no such thing as fall- just summer year round. In Taiwan there is a brief moment when the skies clear and the temperature drops reminiscent of that sweet season. It is fleeting and soon gives way to the rain and cold of the winter months but I can still feel it for a moment.

I don't have any profound life application for this post.  Sometimes it just feels good when you are lonely to share or write.  I get to do both.  Tomorrow I will spend the day again doing follow-up tests and then home again on Tuesday. Hopefully, the doctors will send me on my way with good news and a fistful of drugs to fix an ailing kidney.

In the meantime when that tell-tale crisp breeze signals the advent of fall, pause to revel in the beauty and then eat a Braum's ice cream sundae for me.

Happy 4th Birthday Chloe

Such a busy, busy week. Chloe's birthday party was last Saturday, her 1st day of School was this past Monday, three typhoons swirled around our home yesterday, we had a small yet substantial earthquake also yesterday and Chloe's official 4th birthday is today.

Chloe loved all her princess videos and new princess dress from Aunt Debbie, Aunt Tina and Nana as well as her new books from Aunt Melissa.  Chloe says "thanks."