As we witness the beginnings of a series of radical changes in our country, I have to admit that I feel a combination of excitement and dread. I am excited that our government can finally get things done, now that the White House and both Houses of Congress soon seem to be in one party's control. It feels almost like in the United Kingdom, where a new Prime Minister can accomplish many of the changes he or she seeks until the members of the legislative branch and general public lose confidence in the leadership.
But we do not have a parliamentary system, and short of impeachment there is no power on this earth that can derail the train of our new President. I agree with him that many changes are needed, and yet I pray that the few guardrails of our system that remain will hold. It is going to be a wild and dangerous ride, but evidently that is what a majority of the electorate wants. As a patriotic citizen, I will pray for our success. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I pray that God continues to bless us as a nation.
In the midst of all these mixed emotions, God has blessed this old guy in two major ways, one anticipated and the other a complete surprise.
On November 7th, I flew to Dallas to meet with my two adult children and attend a banquet celebrating the creation of a series of new endowed scholarship funds at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing at Baylor University. One of these was created by my wife Mary Lou and I to honor my first wife and mother of my children, Betty Hess Bristol, who left us way too early almost 13 years ago.
Betty was an amazing woman of God and compassionate nurse. When she witnessed an emergency medical need, Betty would always spring into action to remedy the situation. There was seemingly no gap between her seeing a problem and jumping in the middle of it to resolve the situation. She was small of stature but powerful in strength and faith. When we lived together in what was essentially the First Century in a remote area of the former Soviet Union, God used her willing hands to perform several miracles. One day I will detail these in a book. One of our hosts was kind enough to take this photo of me with my son Matt IV and daughter Allison, standing next to a table with a plaque that celebrates Betty's life and legacy.
My second major blessing happened on Veterans Day. One of my volunteer functions is to serve on the board of the Crater Community Hospice, a non-profit organization that provides hospice services in Central and parts of Southern Virginia. Both Mary Lou and I greatly value hospice services, as each of us experienced their loving care to our former spouses. Crater Hospice has a wonderful group of veterans who conduct honors ceremonies for veterans who are in our hospice programs. We do this in the homes of the veterans or at the facilities where they are residing. One Veterans Day we go to area senior care facilities to honor all veterans on site.
This year we had scheduled a ceremony at a local residence facility not far from my home. About two dozen active duty soldiers came from nearby Fort Gregg-Adams. I was given a list of the Air Force veterans to be honored. As I reviewed the names, I noticed that the list included Major General Fred Nelson, who had been my Wing Commander at RAF Upper Heyford, England over 40 years ago. I then looked over the room and there he was, smiling and in apparent good spirits. What a blessing!! After the ceremony, we sat down and reminisced about our service together. Then Mary Lou and I shared a lunch with Fred, and it was more special than mere words could describe.
Later that afternoon, we all went next door to the memory care unit where Fred's wife Nan is living. We talked for about an hour and then made plans to get back together as soon as possible. Again, a picture is worth a thousand words.
I am so thankful to God for his faithfulness and patience with me. Each new day is a new opportunity to have what I call divine appointments. That is what keeps me going. I know that none of our tomorrows on this earth are guaranteed. And so we keep on living, loving and giving, until our time comes to an end.
Thanks for tuning in.
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