Sickness sucks. You think you have all the time in the world with the people you love. Till you can't.
A friend's mom came up to visit him last week. He hadn't seen her in almost two years.
She went back home and got checked out, thinking she was just under the weather. The next day she was on a respirator.
Before Sunday morning even got here, our own house was already running on fumes. My wife has been extremely sick as well, and the other day she ran a fever over 103 for twelve straight hours. She runs high fevers when she gets sick, and watching your wife burn that hot for half a day is stressful enough on its own.
The very next morning, I was sitting in church when my friend got a text during the service.
His mom was gone.
My grandson Blake got hit with it too. Many of you have followed his growth and prayed for him since the NICU after he was born at 29 weeks. Now he has COVID and RSV at the same time in his developing lungs, and he was at the doctor today getting checked out.
Please pray for my friend and his family. Pray for Blake, and pray for my wife as she recovers.
Life is short. It's good to know the Lord in times like these.
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." (James 4:14)
We talk as if we have forty more Thanksgivings, twenty more summers, and endless quiet evenings at the kitchen table to make things right. We leave the phone call for Friday. We let an old argument sit in the living room for another week. We leave the Bible closed on the counter because we're tired and figure we'll open it tomorrow.
Solomon wrote down the plain truth about time before any of us were born.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
You get to love your spouse, raise your kids, call your parents, forgive your friend, and open the Word of God until you can't.
Nobody gets a two-week notice.
First, thank you to every one of you who reads these letters, prays for our family, and keeps this work standing. You've carried our house in prayer since Blake was in that hospital incubator. We don't take a single name on this list for granted.
So I want to give you something back. Something to read with your house while you still have the time.
I put four of my main Bible study guides together on Gumroad: The Plain Bible Manual 2.0, Where the Bible Came From, 100 Plain Questions About the Bible, and Familiar Spirits.
Pay what you want. Type zero and they're yours free, as a thank-you from our family for praying.
If you do put something in the box, it goes toward caring for my family.
Reach out to the people you love tonight. Sit down with your spouse. Call your mom or your kids. Open your Bible while the chairs at your table are still full.
There will come a time you can't.
