December 2023

December. Time once again to “wax eloquent” with thoughts about Christmas…. Maybe it’s too early for anything
insightful but here’s my opener: Singing the 1st Christmas carol of the season last Sunday in church made me homesick.

Granted, I’ve spent more holiday seasons overseas than in the USA and I don’t remember ever being homesick. For that season PNG WAS home! California is not. God immediately rebuked my heart though before I could go into some profound pity party. This world, and especially CA USA is NOT my home. Neither, for that matter, is southeast Missouri where I currently long to be. Unless I am pining for Heaven, and seeing Jesus face to face, all other nostalgic melancholy notions are not worth concentrated consideration. God immediately shifted my focus back to the hope we have in Jesus! Anywhere with Him is home! Yet another “unspeakable (fully inexpressible)” gift we have in Jesus!

So, why am I still in California??? Seems like another “two steps forward, one step back” status with my sister’s house
these days. Sigh.

• Faith spoke with one of the pastors at her church who has been through a similar scenario with a house. He wants us to talk with a different attorney as he thinks there may be other options than waiting 5-12 months to get things through probate court to clear the title. That puts us back in limbo until the 2nd attorney is available to give us some input.
• Storage – we’re maybe 2/3 of the way through a 10’X30’ unit. Another sigh. We bring back 2 car loads of boxes each week, taking advantage of my niece Eva’s “youth” and agility to climb and fetch cartons from near the top. She usually owns about 99% of each load but needs encouragement to sort through it. Even then, alas, she repacks nearly everything for the eventual move to Missouri. With her nearing 500 boxes already she will have to pay for a storage unit there as she has way too much to fit in the house!
• And alas there’s still “the dog.” Faith paid big bucks for some training sessions for her. The trainer has come once but admits with this canine’s nonassertive shyness he can’t do hands-on schooling. He has advised Eva on how to go about coaching the critter. Pray Eva will follow through and that the dog will respond positively!!!! The trainer is also going to check his contacts to see if anyone would be interested in taking the dog. Or perhaps another vet who would agree to put her down if she can’t be rehomed. Please pray!!!! We REALLY need for the dog to be
  anywhere but here!!!!

So yes, we are closer to the day when we will be able to leave California though we still have no idea when that will be. I had hoped for early August. Then Labor Day. Surely by Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Now I’m hoping & praying it will be by the time the daffodils bloom in Missouri! All in God’s good time, I know. He’s still teaching me that “in whatever state I am, therein to be content!” This idea of living life “on hold” is another thought pattern God cautions me to avoid. He has His reasons, and they are good enough, even when I don’t understand.

Meanwhile, on the “lighter side” for the more amusing segment – I spend far too much time dreaming of ways to refrain from freezing. As for my options to that end I can:

• Cuddle the cat – if he’ll let me!
• Use the hair dryer to defrost frozen fingers and toes
• Make full use of the bit of heat radiating off the laptop computer
• Huddle (hopefully with the cat!) in the lone spot of sun that on sunny days infiltrates into one room of the house 10am-2pm
• Wash dishes in hot water!!!! IF I can let the water run long enough for it to get hot without feeling guilty for wasting precious CA resources…….
• Wearing layers helps – I’m up to 4. Since I came in the summer I brought no warm clothes along I have confiscated some turtleneck shirts, sweatshirts and long johns my sister was going to donate to Goodwill, and I’ve insisted she wear some of them too. For the frozen digits – next time I’m at Walmart I’ll buy some of those nifty little hand warmers. There are probably a 100 such packets “somewhere” at the bottom of the load already boxed for eventual shipping to SEMO, but NO. I am NOT going to dig through that mountain and rip open each box to find them!!!- Eventually, if God keeps us here thru the entire winter, we’ll invest in some plug-in heaters but I still need to do more research on that! At least some advertised are 100% scams. We want to invest wisely and not just pad some con’s cash stash!

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers as we look to the Lord for His solutions to this era of life. It is making me all the more thankful for that little pronouncement from God’s Word, “It came to pass…!” How well I remember one of my Bible School teachers having us look up one such passage as he pointed out that trials do eventually have an ending! In the meantime, as the apostle Paul said, I am learning to be content.

Have a wonderful Christmas pondering again the coming of our Savior Jesus to:

• save us from the penalty of our sins,
• help us daily to overcome the temptation to sin,
• and anticipating His return to rescue us out of the very presence of sin!

With Jesus we truly have much to celebrate!
Because Christ came and is coming again – perhaps today! we therefore have …………..
HOPE !!!!!!
Hope Sharp – retired NTMPNG