It has been a splendid week in almost every way!  I enjoy this season so very much, and I am grateful to God for the healing that continually creeps into my heart and surprises me at special moments. 

Yesterday, my Uncle Eli gave me a tape of one of my precious Daddy’s sermons.  I was on the way to the doctor for a check-up on my broken foot, and the tape was on the seat beside me. 

I kept thinking, “I am not going to listen to it right now.  No, I’m sure I’m not going to listen right now.”  But it kept lying there, staring at me, and finally, I reached over and popped it into the tape deck.  In his inimitable style, the tape began with him recognizing visitors in the congregation, mentioning the pretty “flaurs” (flowers) and just having his usual “before the sermon chit-chat” with which he usually began his sermons.

The memories came flooding down, and he sounded so real!  So alive.  And it didn’t make me cry.  I can’t explain it, because I could cry thinking about it, but it was in retrospect that I realized I hadn’t shed any tears, but I had enjoyed the sermon, and had felt this strange, surrounding delight and warmth and quietness.  What a man my Daddy was!  How very blessed we were to have him for our Daddy!

And yes, I was going to the doctor to see if I could get rid of this removable cast.  I didn’t cry over this either, but my cast cannot come off yet.  It doesn’t appear that there has been any healing since the removable cast was put on three weeks ago, though the doctor did say that the X-rays don’t always show everything.  It isn’t touchy when he puts pressure on the break, but he wants me to wear the removable cast for another month.  I don’t have to wear it all the time, and he said it is okay if I have it off when I don’t need to do alot of walking, but said that he feels it would be better to wear it most of the time. 

I refuse to be sad about this.  I know that I have had a terrible upper respiratory infection over the past two weeks, and have taken cold medicine for that, as well as anti-inflammatory meds, so I may have inadvertantly made a problem for myself.  And, of course, Certain Man is posititve that it comes from too much activity. 

Whatever the reason, I guess I get another month at half speed.  And I’m thinking that it might be a blessing for me in the long run.  There is more time to think, to meditate on this blessed season, and there is less “compulsion to do” than there would be otherwise.  There are plenty of things I can do “from my chair” and that is not necessarily a bad thing.  And of course, I have gotten lots of advice about what I should be taking to fix this – – and I plan to at least try some of the suggestions.  The doctor said again yesterday that this is not at all unusual.  The spot that this is in makes it extremely difficult to mend.  I remain very grateful that I didn’t have to have surgery, and waiting is good fo me.  I suppose so, anyhow. 

Before I sign off today, I want to thank our church family for their spectacular spirit, demonstrated once again last night in the way they came together to pack Thanksgiving Boxes.  We did the packing in The Gathering Place of the church (the basement) and the set-up was perfect, the basement was warm, the lighting was great, but the people!!!  Ah, my brothers and sisters, if you only could have seen yourselves last night — The laughter, the working together, the chatter and the caring!  I watched you all as you milled about packing boxes in a purposeful and well-planned way (Thanks, Women in Christian Service Committee!) and saw young and not so young working cheerfully together and my heart was so glad.  I think all 24 boxes were delivered in a timely fashion, and I just want to thank all of you again for your co-operation and good help! 

Blessings to all of you for a wonderful Thanksgivng.