Hart Update 12/9/09 - Christmas Letter

DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS,

At this Christmas season we wish you a blessed Christmas and a prosperous new year.  We, indeed, need to seek God’s face for our nation and our personal lives in these  uncertain economic times. In several places in the Bible the subject of prospering is tied to the study and meditation of the law of the Lord so it is good to remember that one of the names for Jesus in the Christmas story is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

I (Bud) have found that the Lord is with us even in difficult times this year..  Let me summarize the lesson I learned in 2008.  It started unexpectantly when I went shopping for Carolyn’s birthday present back in July. As I walked  into the store there was a sign at the entrance saying “Free Screening for Diabetes.”  Good idea, I was not in a hurry so I sat down at a little table, the man pricked my finger and read 271.  He said that it was high and suggested I go to see my doctor. 

Next picture – I ended up in the emergency room three days later where I was told I was diabetic and that my liver enzymes were high. Subsequent appointments were made so that July was a series of being “pricked and poked, scanned and scoped.”  Bottom line was that there was a mass in the pancreas that needed to be analyized and taken care of.
Surgery took place in August and the surgeon performed what is called the Whipple procedure which is quite extensive involving the stomach, the duodenum, the pancreas and various ducts running into the small intestine. A tumor in the pancreas was removed and the other areas around it were all negative.  It was a rough time recovering in the hospital but I’m home and taking chemotherapy 3 times a month for ? months.  The biggest visible change is the weight I lost since I am now back at my playing weight when I was at Wheaton running the soccer field.

Now all of this is to say that God was very real during those days when the road was rough and full of potholes.  He has promised His presence (Immanuel) during all our days and in all circumstances but never did He say that all would be smooth and trouble free.  He is the rock, the solid ground,  and the One you can depend on when hurting or frustrated.  He has said that “My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Truly I found this to be true and it remains so today.

So, who knows what 2009 will bring?? God is sufficient for whatever we face and He is to be loved and honored.  Let us be like those wise men of old who bowed down and worshipped the Lord Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings.  May you know His presence in your lives this year.
 

In His Grace,
Bud and Carolyn