Some say that after fifty, it's patch, patch, patch. I don't know what the saying is about after sixty. I should. It's been a while since we've seen fifty. At any rate, we've done a lot of patching this week. A crown came off one of Tom's teeth last week which meant locating a dentist and making an appointment. It was time for our annual eye exams so we did those on Monday. Tuesday I went to the cancer clinic to have blood drawn so a report would be ready for my visit this coming Monday and Thursday I went to the long awaited appointement with the orthopedist.

Our eyes have the normal age related changes: cataracts not yet ripe, vision that's not what it used to be. Mine was enough changed that a change in lens was warranted. I had them cut and fitted this moring. It's amazing how much better I can see the crossword puzzle and hopefully, the Bible on the pulpit. Tom's crown was reseated and he didn't have to go through having a new one fit and seated, nor the expense. My cast was cut off yesterday and the report is that my ankle is healing, but has a long way to go. Now I have a tacky little shoe on the left foot and a boot on the right ankle. The shoe can change to a tennis shoe in two weeks, but the boot stays for another four. The doctor thinks I move pretty well to have bones broken in both legs. Why not? You know that I love a challenge. For now the patching is complete; I'll let you know how Monday goes with the oncologist.

My teaching assignments are back on track for this Sunday and next. The teacher of the class is a wonderful expositional teacher, working verse by verse through books of the Bible. For my two Sundays I've elected to teach on Bible heroes and plan to begin with Moses. I've been hearing about Bible heroes since I was a child learning at my mother's knee and in Sunday school. Then, I put them in a class with all the other super heroes I knew but as I've aged and studied those same "heroes" I've come to realize that they were ordinary people just like you and me. The one common thread among "heroes" like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, David etc. was their trust and reliance on God. It was God who enabled them to persevere, to stand firm, to speak for God. They could have never done it on their own. I understand Biblical heroes better now and I understand that the same God who enabled them enables me today. That understanding brings another saying to mind: God doesn't call the equipped to do his work; he equips the called. In Bible days God didn't find heroes to do his work; he used ordinary people and we call them "heroic."

Our friend, Susan, needs your prayers. She is in her mid-thirties, is married with two little boys under three years of age and has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Chemotherapy begins next week. If you believe that God works through the prayers of his people, as I do, please pray, believing that our gracious God will heal Susan.

Blessings,
Pastor Margaret