Christmas =
2020, of a most unusual year!
Dear Family =
& Friends –
May your =
Christmas Celebrations shine with the BLESSED HOPE that is found only in =
the Christ of Christmas! “God kept every promise He made about the =
coming of His Son TO us, and He will keep every promise He made about =
the coming of His Son FOR us!”
We were =
honestly thinking we didn’t have much news this “year of =
quarantine”. But when we began to look back. . . Boy! =
Three days =
before the Covid nightmare began, Teresa’s Mom entered =
Heaven’s Gate. We miss her dearly, but she was ready to go, and we =
are happy for HER. Just think of the “Christmas” =
she’s having this year!
Of course we =
learned a lot through the Covid experiences, though Teresa’s =
lifestyle didn’t change all that much! Bob has been super careful =
as he continues to preach. Church was “on-line” for ten =
weeks. We found new ways of doing things like “picking up =
groceries”. We finally discovered Amazon Prime(!), which is =
SUCH a blessing and FUN. OK, so you CAN teach an old dog new =
tricks!
While cleaning =
our hot tub in prep for grandkids, Bob (with NO feeling in his feet) =
burned the soles off his bare feet on our piping HOT deck. It was =
shocking, looking like raw steak! Teresa thought it might spell the end =
of him. His good doctors did all they could, and against all odds, =
his feet DID heal. PTL and WHEW! Yet later a serious infection =
settled in Bob’s right foot and leg. For the first time =
ever, he missed 5 Sundays in a row, due to high fevers, quivering =
chills, and inability to walk due to pain. SO scary. =
Gradually, he was able to return to preaching. Determined =
guy!
The next =
adventure was the appearance of what Teresa calls her Lizard Skin, a =
burn-like rash all over hands, arms, and upper torso. Grandkids =
are calling it “the itchy pox”. With help from our =
doctor and the Autoimmune Research Foundation, we discovered it to be =
another exacerbation of the Sarcoidosis of the lungs, now also attacking =
skin. Bummer. It happens in 20% of cases. One of those =
things “you CAN live with”. At times she could use one =
of Job’s “potsherds”. Hope they have ‘em =
on Amazon!
Jeremiah, =
Joshua, and Lyssa are doing well, still in their same ministries with =
their spouses (IL, CA,WI). Our tribe of grandchildren hit 15 (!) =
when JP and Tancy finalized the adoption of brothers Justin and =
Seth. God miraculously provided the finances to cover the legal =
fees AND two new bedrooms added to their house. It is wonderful to =
see all those kiddos beginning to BLOOM. FIVE of our grands are in =
COLLEGE now (already!?!), while ONE just started =
kindergarten.
It’s =
been an “exciting” year for all of them, too. Both JP =
and Lys’s families did catch Covid, despite all precautions. Some =
were REALLY sick, but all are now recovered. God is Good! =
About the same time, Josh and family went through the deadly Silverado =
fire, which came WAAAY too close! Maybe we’re ALL ready for a NEW =
YEAR, eh? (A less exciting one, Please, Lord!)
Teresa had a =
Cataract Surgery recently on one eye (surgery on her second eye will be =
done this week). She is already GLAD for restoration of keen vision as =
she can thread a needle and read fine print again. Yippee! Don’t =
tell Bob, but she now sees what she’d THOUGHT was his halo is just =
silver hair.
Well, we saved =
our biggest news for last: After 50 years in full-time pastoral =
ministries, Bob is retiring from Sovereign Grace Church (having served =
there for 16 years). This will be effective in the Spring, =
2021. Everyone (but Bob) knows “it’s time” for a =
well-earned rest.
We will be =
retiring to Watertown, Wisconsin, in a duplex just 8 blocks from our =
daughter, and 70 miles from son JP, close to 11 of our 15 =
grandchildren! My sister Carole (married to Bob’s best buddy =
from College) lives nearby, too. We also have many friends in the =
area, as we pastored two Wisconsin churches in years gone by. =
Josh’s in-laws live in the state, so we will be more likely to see =
his family often, too. Altogether, a lot to look forward to in our =
new digs.
Watertown is =
the home of Maranatha Baptist University, which is precious to us. =
Our whole family graduated AND met our life-partners there. We =
look forward to attending concerts, plays, sport events, and =
recitals.
Our newly =
remodeled/updated home is well-suited for our Grandpa & Grandma =
lifestyle. No stairs, no yardwork, no shoveling, no =
maintenance. Added services in this special Christian community =
are available IF and WHEN we should need them. We will send =
out “change of address” cards after we get settled. =
“You can run, but you can’t =
hide!”
Meanwhile we =
definitely have our work cut out for us, getting seriously downsized and =
packed to move in the Spring. We are grateful for the pending sale =
of our old house, where Teresa grew up, and where we have lived for 33 =
years now. We feel elated one minute and weepy the next, riding an =
emotional roller-coaster!
Sadness. Fear. =
Uncertainty. Boredom. Exhaustion. Anger. These are just a few of =
the emotions we feel in 2020 . . . and we know that we are not alone. =
But whatever you are facing today, there is only ONE answer. In a =
world gone so wrong, only God’s Word can keep your mind and heart =
at peace.
Now it’s =
YOUR TURN! We’d enjoy hearing from you this Christmas, dear =
y’all.
Bob and Teresa =
Griffin