The Hardest Goodbye

When we moved, I said goodbye to many great friends and a lot of family members:  brothers Chuck and Tip and families, nephew Chris and family, stepmother Dawn, stepbrother Jeff and family, stepsister Joan and family, the Potter cousins, more cousins, more family, and our kids Erin, Ben, and Andy.  Difficult to say goodbye to each of them, in different ways. 

But here is my sister, Susan.  Susan is the oldest of us four Speier kids, I'm the youngest, and of course there's a running commentary about how hard it is for the oldest child and how spoiled the youngest is. 

The truth is, Susan really did do a lot as we were growing up.  Because our mom was a single mom, many responsibilities fell to Susan.  She babysat us, did a lot of the chores, witnessed the most family upheaval.  She made sure our mom received Mother's Day gifts, and sewed Barbie doll clothes for me.  

Susan has a great sense of humor, is an artist, loves country music and dancing, helps me with the Sunday crossword puzzle, loves her two grandchildren like crazy, she makes the world's best spaghetti and the world's best chocolate-chip cookies, and is a cancer survivor.

Now she's facing another illness that has limited her activities, won't be able to visit Jamaica, and saying goodbye to her was heart-wrenching.  I love and miss her, I'm grateful for her, and I'm praying for God's gracious, miraculous intervention and healing in her life.       

Bruce's Blog

 

 

"And these signs will accompany those who believe...they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”   Mark 16:17-18

On Thursday I was helping one of our workers.  He had welded some bars onto a window grate.  We moved the grate off to the side and he asked me to do some finish work on it.  Not thinking, I grabbed a part of the grate that was still hot.  It burned my hand.  He told me how to take care of the burn and we both prayed over it.  I was done working for the day.  One hour later, before supper, two of the small children asked me about the burn marks on my hand.  I asked each one to touch the marks with their fingers and to say "Jesus make it better."  Later that evening the wounds were much better and, by morning, were almost non-existent.  "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move."  Matthew 17:20

Full Circle

This is no ordinary clothesline! 

Three years ago, Bruce and I brought a team of friends to Robin's Nest.  We mowed, painted, did electrical work, sang, painted some more, picked chicken skin off chicken feet, learned how long it takes to buy things at a hardware store here, and Dave and Nick installed this clothesline for the current directors. 

And now our clothes are on this line!  I get to think about our friends every time I hang clothes.  How fun is that? 

I'm grateful for a washing machine, sunshine, the clothesline, and the friends who have prayed for us every step of this journey.

Hard-pressed on every side...but not crushed! 2 Corinthians 4:8

The Truman Show is an old movie now, from 1998, but there's a scene I've been thinking of during our three-month delay.  Truman is trying to escape the island and is faced with increasingly outrageous deterrents:  no flights departing for a month, a forest fire, and a leak at the nuclear plant.

We have faced a number of difficult obstacles during this time:  a complicated but workable way to keep Bruce's retirement plan in place fell apart at the last minute, sickness, a family crisis which tested our faith, even a car driving the wrong way in our lane!

We could look at these things in a few different ways.  We're seeing them as Satan's attempt at derailing us.  But, "What [Satan] meant for evil, God intended for good." (Genesis 50:20)  At every turn, we've been supported by the prayers of friends and strangers.  Important healing and growth has taken place during this delay.  We've been given extra time with extended family, including celebrating Christmas together.  Friends graciously let us live with them.  Other options for health care and retirement became available. 

The list of ways the Lord has cared for us during this delay goes on and on, ways He has used potentially frustrating events to bring about His good purposes.  We're grateful for His provision, and grateful to now be able to step into the new season ahead of us!

Delayed!

Our original date of departure had been Oct. 8...thought we would have everything ready by that time.  Various things cropped up that delayed us - more preparation needed, and setbacks with business - and now the real moving date:  Dec. 30th.

As Rob, the Robin's Nest Board president stated:  "Merry Christmas and a Happy Nest Year!"
And brother-in-law Tom's comment:  "Minneapolis temperature, 1*; Montego Bay temperature, 86*; seems like a good decision."

Six days and counting...

Caleb

 

We recently met this young man at a church where we did a presentation about Robin’s Nest.  Afterwards, Caleb signed his Confirmation song for us (“Lord, I Lift Your Name on High”) and then spoke the three words he can say:  go, God, good.

I’ve been thinking about those three words ever since.  Three words with great meaning for us as we prepare for our mission work in Jamaica, and encouragement for every Christian…

“Go with God, and He will make it good.”

“Go, because God is good.”

We’re profoundly grateful to have been ministered to by Caleb.   

Please pray for his complete recovery from a recent surgery, and for his dedicated parents, Ken and Ruthie.

 

 

 

 

Public Service Announcement

 

Our move out of the parsonage, after living there for 14 years, was a move like no other. 

Bruce and I have moved nine times in our marriage, and each move has generally followed the same pattern:  you’re pretty well organized when you start packing and by the end you have way too many boxes marked “Miscellaneous”.  The deal is that you know you’ll be able to figure it out at the new place. 

Not so if you’re moving out of the country.  We needed to look at every item and piece of paper and decide what to do with it once and for all:  give away, put into storage, take along.  I was faced with a lot of decisions, a lot of emotions, and a lot of unfinished projects!  So…

I’m using my recent experience to make a public service announcement:  Finish your sewing projects now!  Label your photographs now!  Take the old oil that’s in your garage to the hazardous waste place now!  Cut your losses, skip having a garage sale, and drive to the Salvation Army donation center now!  Go to Flylady.net and get rid of your clutter now!

And, when I return from Jamaica, remind me about this post.  I’m a minimalist from here on out!