It’s been a while since we have updated, but the circumstances of the past month have been extraordinary. The following sounds very disjointed, but as you read you will see that this has been a difficult blog update to write.
It has been a month of both blessing and pain.
The month started with burying Kay’s dad’s ashes - with just a short “service” around the grave.
Then off to the Dalesdown camps, where all went very well - the kid’s camp that we were around for was brilliant.
Only two days after returning we learned of the tragic death of the teenage son of some good friends. A death that has shaken the whole church. Words alone are not enough to convey our feelings in this. The funeral was a powerful reminder of God’s grace, and full of hope - but as we’ve said…there are no words…. our friends have been an amazing example of how God upholds in such awful times, and the young people great in showing what “being church” really means.
With heavy hearts and full of prayer for our friends, we went ahead with a planned break with our lovely friends Mike and Judi to the Gorsley festival, where RT Kendall was the main speaker. It was an amazing weekend - we were able to relax and laugh with our friends, and learn so much from the teaching. One of the sessions was about when we ask “why?” and was very helpful for us. We came back - still sad, but re-envisioned in the role we have and ready to face another day.
A week after our return we heard the very sad news that Kay’s friend from childhood had passed away in very sad circumstances. On top of everything else that has happened this has been hard news to take - completely numbing and heart wrenching.
But….even with the question why on our hearts we can still say “I know that my redeemer lives”.
Kay’s health has not been good, with the pain levels very high for a few weeks now, which makes sleep very difficult. We have found some treatment for the pain that occurs in her facial muscles and eyes - this is going to be expensive, but we hope worth it! That treatment will start in two weeks.
We are off on holiday soon, so just tidying up the house enough for the house sitters to be able to at least get in. Two weeks in Greece sounds very appealing right now…..!
Whilst making clear our own pain in all this news, we also acknowledge that the pain of our friends and their families is so much greater and would ask you to pray with us for them.
Thankyou
