Blessings follow disaster

The sun is shining this week. Mom called on Monday and her voice sounded sparkling. She said their dentist has offered a furnished home rent-free for three months while Mom and Dad continue to clean out their home and the rental property across the street, which will likely serve as a short-term home when it's in good shape. They also got a lead on some property to purchase in a location about a mile down the road (and atop a nice lofty knoll). Mom has always wanted to build a home at this particular location, so it looks like God was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to make that possible.

In addition to hope for the future, volunteers have flooded (pun intended) the area and have helped enormously in scooping out mud, packing up valuables and loading up damaged belongings to take to the dump. An anonymous donor from the Seattle area drove down and handed Dad a large chunk of cash, having seen him on the local news and wanted to help. Friends and acquaintances are offering labor and financial assistance. It would take pages to list all of the blessings that have come from this tragedy. Mom and Dad have always been givers and doers. Now they have the opportunity to let others have the joy of giving to them.

At the end of my conversation with Mom, she mentioned one more great thing about Monday--a semi truck with portable showers rolled into the Grange Hall parking lot offering a warm, soapy refuge from mud and tired muscles. Praise God!

In Jacksonville, we're preparing our costumes for our church's live nativity on Sunday. We hope our baby Jesus (Mr. C) will make it until 7:30 p.m. without needing to exit the manger. And Miss L, after seeing a children's Christmas play today also at our church, is currently wrapped in nothing but sheer blue gossamer and is pretending to be an angel. Thankfully it's about 80 degrees today.