Joy and Grief

I'm coming home on Tuesday! I'm super excited! I'm going to be in Broken Arrow for two weeks, form August 7-21. I'm looking forward to having a good break. I only had one week between graduation and moving to New York. Now I get to have a break from always having something pressing to do or someone to see. I'm hoping to go to Kansas this next weekend and to Joplin on the 20th to see friends from Ozark.
On a more serious tone, I just received an e-mail about a friend of mine, Patricia, who recently suffered a brain aneurysm. She played piano at 1st Christian in Miami, OK, where I preached during the spring semester. It has been a hard season for her recently anyway as her husband, Nate, passed away in the Fall. Every time I spoke with Patricia she encouraged me with her faithfulness to God. Whether wet or dry eyes, she was either praising God for his faithfulness to her in the midst of grief or she was concerned about others who didn't know God's love. It pains me to hear that she is having to undergo surgeries, and will probably not be able to live by herself again. But with Patricia's same spirit, I believe that God is faithful to his people. Soon I will be able to worship before the throne of the lamb with both Nate and Patricia where there will be no more sickness, pain, tears or death. How great is our God! Come quickly, Lord Jesus.