Today, Margaret and Tom continued to work towards their move to Tennessee. Friends have been coming over to help pack boxes and bring food. They have been running errands and have provided other much needed help as well. Tom and Margaret will certainly miss Fair Oaks PCUSA very much. In fact, Tom said on the phone tonight that Margaret and he were going to the church tomorrow to say goodbye to everyone out in the narthex. Although Tom and Margaret have no trips planned tomorrow other than to his doctors' office, his mental lapse accentuates the moving related stress that is weighing on his mind - the goodbye's - the apparent unfairness of it all.

Thursday, Margaret will go to see her pulmonologist to find out if she can be relased for travel. She is hoping that her doctor will free her from her oxygen tank and that she will get a clean bill of health which will enable her to fly sooner rather than later. She has promised that she will not push too hard, though, and that she will continue to take the neccessary time she needs to get stronger in order to travel.

Repeatedly aforementioned on this blog, the move to Tennessee will be bittersweet for Tom and Margaret. Sweet in the sense that being close to family will be wonderful; bitter in the sense that they are saddened to be leaving California in a seemingly premature fashion.

Several years ago, when Margaret and Tom accepted the call to Fair Oaks PCUSA, CA , there was an overwhelming sense of bewilderment felt by thier family, a positive sense of encouragement from thier Covenant Pres family in MS, and a fearful, yet excited feeling shared by both Tom and Margaret.

Over time, their family learned to accept and appreciate the call, the Covenant family missed Tom and Margaret, but knew that God was using them to forward His will, and Tom and Margaret were ecstatic that they were in the exact place that God had placed them. Then, over time, they were flooded with a series of most unfortunate diagnoses that have since dictated their lives. First, Tom got sick. Then, Margaret was re-diagnosed with a new form of cancer. Tom has not gotten any better, in fact, his condition is worsening with each passing day. Of course, Margaret has had to deal with extreme health issues recently - hence this blog! This roller coaster ride has forced Tom and Margaret to reflect on their lives. To be honest, it has forced all of us involved to reflect.

Another reoccuring motif associated with this blog is that God remains to be good. However, if we were all to be honest at this point, who amongnst us still believes that God has been holding up his end of the bargain to remain good? Parkinson's, ovarian cancer, remission, potential Lewy-body diesease diagnosis, reoccurance of ovarian cancer, life support, physical therapy, and a 3,000 mile move across the country? God is good? Toss the rose colored glasses aside, folks. Times are 100% grim for Tom and Margaret these day - and yet - God must remain good!!

For the skeptics out there, be not afraid! There are many out there that feel just like you do. And yet, consider the words of the apostle Paul from his first letter to the church in Corinth. "Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are not, to reduce to nothing thins that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God."

As soon as we think that we know what is best, as soon as we begin to second guess God, He does something different. Different and good. We can't understand God; we can't know what he is doing, we can only have faith and believe that he continues to be good. Second guessing must pass. Believing we know what is best for Tom and Margaret must become a distant memory. Believing that we understand what God is doing? No way, folks! God is God and he has a plan. We must merely wait and trust for it to unfold, because He truly is good - despite the fact that we don't yet understand. Amen and amen. More later . . . .