In His Presence

Time has been getting away from me with Barb's situation. Here is where we are: Barb is getting quite sick again. Her tumor seems to be growing fast, closing off the stent that had been placed between her stomach and small intestine. As a result, she cannot eat or drink very well again. She has also been retaining fluid to the tune of forty pounds of weight gain. To do a tap and drain the fluid would be a daily thing. She chose not to return to Des Moines, but rather to return home and start hospice care. She is home now, and the hospice nurse should be coming today.

Tim is on his way from Oklahoma. Pray for safe travels for Tim, and pray for a miracle for Barb. Pray for God's complete healing and restoration. But whatever God chooses in His sovereign reign in her life, Barb is ready to see Jesus and to join Him in eternity where she will await our arrival.

In Philippians 1:21, Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." This is the point to which Barb has arrived in her life-long journey with Christ. Paul continued, "But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you" (vs. 22-24).

These are Barb's feelings, precisely! She too knows that to live on in the flesh would mean more fruit for her labor in your lives. She also would like to continue on for Tim and me. Yet, like Paul, she is "hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better" (v. 23).

Though she hates to leave us behind, she looks forward with eagerness to seeing Jesus. That is her heart-felt desire—to be in His presence for all eternity. She just wants all of you to know how much she loves you with the precious love of Jesus. Amen.