Here's to 48 years together ... and perhaps a few more

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Stuff comes in; stuff flows out. Today a truck arrives with 15 boxes of books and a dining set. Thanks, Jane! We unload the books onto the Porch but send the truck with its antique table and hutch onward to its new home. Nothing belongs to us: it's all God's, whether friendships or resources or time.

Don't reject what God intends to do through you. Maybe others think God's spiritual gift to you is odd. I encourage you to use it, even if it's not a traditional strength like teaching or writing. Don't reject what God intends to do through you. Give if you are a giver. Be a good administrator or accountant if you're good with plans or numbers. Etc.

Whatever God puts in your hand, use it even if your gifting is as strange as this one: being a conduit for things that come and go to bless others. "Do whatever you do with all your might to please the Lord," St. Paul writes to his friends. So stuff comes in; stuff flows out at our house. (Always has, probably always will.)

After lunch, the team comes over for an in-person meeting. It's become convenient to connect online so we don't meet in person every week. I open half of the boxes of books and let everyone choose choose the ones they want for themselves or others.

Today we enjoy the Ibus' banana bread and cookies along with tea. Daniel rehearses his Sunday talk with Della translating. We are all moved by his stories and exposition.

After the others leave, we walk through the project with Shibli and Martin. Overhead, the bare branches are starting to leaf out. Did you know that trees in the tropics drop their leaves once or twice a year, just like in the temperate zones?

I make egg salad sandwiches for supper. Not fancy but filling.

Wednesday - after 48 years?

"Stay. Don't give up. Don't run away." That's my advice for creating a lasting and satisfying marriage.

48 years ago we agreed before God, our relatives, and a church family that we'd stay married forever. Some years were wonderful. Others were difficult. But a promise is a promise so we stayed when times were tough and it seemed we had nothing in common. 

From this vantage point, we work well together. We remember the same people and their funny stories or quirky personalities. We have shared memories of events and travels, and we love our kids, their spouses, and their kids from the bottom of our hearts. Doesn't get better than that.

We measure the windows at the project - we'll use electrical conduit for curtain rods. After we walk the dogs, we have breakfast at Miss Bee.

Mine is just what I'm hungry for: scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast.

Jane drops by for an hour of conversation and tea. It's been a while since we met so it's a treat for us both.

Then our friends Ps Yoel and Ps Ester come up the hill for lunch at Nanny's Pavilon. They pray for peace and safety for the construction crew - and take home a few books from the boxes.

When I look up, there's damage in the soffit from bats. They are destructive in clinging to the roof and chewing the wood.

A frog has wandered into the living room. W gets a dustpan and tosses it back into the garden.

A beautiful white-black wallpaper has been left in one of the rooms. The builders remove an empty box that runs along the one wall and repair the ceiling. That leaves a hole in the paper that I'll fix with a black marker. I traced the pattern a week ago to make sure we could do it. You won't even be able to tell if it's done well.

Except that, when we looked at the room yesterday, there was white paint slopped down the sides and white drips all along the top. Someone was careless with the cut-in, that's for sure. The dry paint can't be removed. I tell the contractor to take the paper down and paint the wall white. Another heritage touch disappears.

I have a canvas drop cloth the size of the windows so we cover the glass for privacy.

Thursday

I hear rustling in the early hours of the morning. When I turn on the light, a big frog is hopping around the bedroom. What's with the frogs this week?!

At 7:30 AM, the dogs eagerly hop in the car, anticipating a good run.

We're hiking in forest and tea fields today. 

Makes of pink impatiens bloom between the rows of tea shrubs. After the tea is clipped, the plants rest before the rows are weeded again in preparation for new growth. It's a few messy weeks as the pale pink impatiens take over.

It's clear enough to see trees on the volcanic slopes around us. The air is often so hazy that we can see outlines but not sharp contours. Not today. We spot the big and still active volcano on the horizon.

We eat at a friend's favorite warung (local eatery). After, we rinse our hands under a spigot pounded into a 5 gallon pail. Another bucket catches the rinse water.

Some local playgrounds may be old-fashioned but they bring back fond memories of our childhood.

Frances drops by with a letter to be mailed next week. She takes home a box of biographies. The opened boxes go to Green Gate's hall where they'll be offered each Sunday until they're gone. We still have novels and teaching materials left to sort. The oened boxes go to Green Gate's hall where they'll be offered each Sunday until they're gone.

IbuA and IbuS help me clear some bookshelves in preparation for moving them. PakG, the yardman, and W shift some shelves to a new location. It's my job to figure out what goes where; theirs is to move it into place.

Read more:

* O Lord of hosts, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Isaiah 37:16

* A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you. Ezekiel 36:26

* Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:44-45

* All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. John 1:3

Moravian Prayer: O God, allow us to really listen; to feel the Holy Spirit; to observe your love; to make love a part of everyday life; to share love with all; to try and love like you.

Creator of all, inspire us with your divine wisdom. Help us to recognize your presence in every aspect of existence and to live in accordance with your divine will. In your name we pray. Amen.