And He said unto me, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
“Trust in the LORD with all your
heart and do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will
make your paths straight.”
Meredith Fox
has had a change of address! She is now in Heaven!From the lyrics of one of Meredith’s favorite
songs, we would hear her often say, “All I know is I’m not home yet.. This is
not where I belong.Take this world and
give me Jesus…this is not where I belong.”And praise the Lord, Princess can now say I am home and in the place where
she belongs!“Precious in the sight of
the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). “For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Princess ran into the arms of
her Savior, Jesus Christ! Well done my good and faithful servant!
As you have
followed our journey for years, thank you for your continued love, support, and
prayers.From the Fox Family and the
Reed Family, we want to express our sincere thanks and appreciation for you as
we celebrate Meredith’s going “home” and of course our physical loss.Funeral arrangements and Meredith’s
celebration are being planned and details will follow.
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is
gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean
fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I
am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with
Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the
flesh is more necessary for your sake. Philippians 1:21-24
Oh, the dilemma of choice! How incredibly hard it can be at
times to choose between one versus the other.The passage from Paul for me has been, in all honesty, a “thumbs-up”
passage.It sounds great and I agree…or
do I?I do.However, let me introduce you to someone who
absolutely understands what Paul is sharing…
Princess.
While there has been somewhat of a hiatus in our posts, much
of it was because life has been status quo.No significant changes as life continues…until this past week.With the events of this past week Princess
has taught and shown me Paul’s passage.This past Wednesday,Princess’ seizures
spiked.And while it wasn’t necessarily
more than what we have experienced or seen in the past, Thursday became worse,
with Princess totaling nearly 50 seizures by noon. As we watched and counted
even higher, the night did not provide rest and Friday was on pace to see even
more than the day before.Note, by this
time, no rescue med touched her seizures nor provided any rest.Saturday, with the help of a dear friend/ER
Physician we prayed, and wisdom was provided to transition Princess to hospice
and allow hospice to manage the seizures.With 24-hour nursing care and more medication than ever, Princess was
finally able to get some rest from her seizures by Sunday.
It has been during this time where Princess amazes and
continues to teach me Paul’s lesson.Given the challenges, Princess is ready to be “home.”For her to die is truly gain.A life free of pain.A life free of seizures.And so much more!The greatness and glory of sitting and
worshipping Jesus consumes Princess’ mind and heart, and she longs for that
homecoming!Yet, while this consumes her
heart and mind, despite being on hospice and unable to process much today, she
has still been relentless is being what I see to be a Proverbs 31 woman!Amidst the adversity…despite circumstances,
her focus has been on Critter and me and trying to do all she does for us at
and in the home.From household chores,
to daily planning, and making sure everyone is where they need to be she has
also been laser focused on making sure that people know 1) there is a God, 2)
he loves you, and 3) because of His great love for everyone through the death
of his son Jesus Christ and Christ’s resurrection from the grave, that those
who receive this Good News can also experience Paul’s passage!Oh the gain!Oh the joy!
Please pray for Princess.She is hurting.She wants
rest…AND she wants everyone to come to know Christ.Oh the unspeakable joy, EVEN in the midst of
pain and struggle.What great gain lies
ahead for those who call upon and trust the name of Jesus.
In twenty years of marriage, we’ve learned that I Love You and
I’m sorry are two of the most important phrases you can use each and every
day! For all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So, that
means that every single one of us messes up.
It doesn’t matter how right we think we are, because ALL have
sinned. God is the only perfect parent. Jesus is the only perfect one in a relationship. B & I have each learned this. Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). However, that doesn’t mean that I keep trying
to sin because I think I’m right. Saying, "I’m sorry," and meaning it are two different things. We have also learned this in our
marriage. Just to say I’m sorry &
not know what I’m sorry for, is just talk, not truth. We each take the time to hear what we’ve done
to hurt the other, process it, and then apologize. Wow!!
In 45 years of life, I got to hear these words for the first
time from someone that matters, but that I’ve never heard it from…My birth
dad.Yep, when I was sixteen I reached
out to him because I had not seen him since I was four.I said, “does it not matter to you that I’m
your daughter?”He said, “my daughter is
a sweet little four year old and she’s dead to me.”Ouch!!!So, I was dead to my birth dad.However, this year, we started to speak again.This month, I asked him about those words.He said, “I’m sorry.I never should have said that.I should have asked to get off the phone.”He then asked for forgiveness again.Wow!There is so much healing in that phrase: I’m sorry!
Then, last weekend, I got to hear him say, “Happy Birthday,”
for the first time in 45 years!Wow!!!!How special!
Each year, I try to come up with some fancy words. This year, I tried, but there are days that I don't even know my own name. So, this was the post from 2020, 17 years of marriage and I believe that it still, on our 20th Wedding anniversary, still states my heart for how amazing my hubby is!!!!!!!!
Growing up, I never had an example of what a man or loving husband should look like. So, I had to turn to the Bible. I'm so glad that I did because while I was talking to HIM (Jesus), he provided him (my hubby)!!
Please read the post from our 17th wedding anniversary so that you can see the amazing man after Christ that I'm blessed to call my husband, all by the grace of God! Thank you, Jesus!!
I think it would also be cool if a bunch of you reached out to him to tell him how amazing he is & Happy 20th Anniversary!!!
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:12-13
Throughout
Princess' journey we have become dependent upon the support of family and
friends. Many of you who are reading these words have been in "the
foxhole" with us and have provided rides and trips for Princess!
Thank you! Over the last few weeks, Princess has remained on hospice
and the help and encouragement have never been more needed! A few friends
have responded and it has been water for a thirsty soul! As school has
begun and some routine is beginning to be established, there is now a quiet, yet
deafening lull…sadly, a reminder of the hurt, pain, inadequacies, and aloneness
that can often come with this awful illness.
And while maybe you, too, can envision or even feel the souls anguish,
we did want to pass along some encouragement.
Before
that, the update….
Princess
is continuing to have a number of “push throughs” as we have come to ascribe a scale
to her seizures. A “push through” is relatively
mild (at least by our definition); however, it is a seizure and still leaves Princess
exhausted and tired. More often than not,
these events will be interruptions throughout the day, yet Princess can carry
on. None the less, exhausting! A “seizure” is where Princess will physically
put her head down, or lay down on the ground, often moaning and frequently lose
awareness. Upon the seizure completion,
she is confused, exhausted and unaware of all that is taking place. Usually, in about 10 minutes or so, she is okay
with no recollection of the seizure that just occurred. However, having all
these combined into a day, often numbering more than 10 in a day, leaves
Princess helpless. Additionally, her
heart rate is soaring with her heart beating at night at nearly 120 beats per
minute. Sitting in chair at home, 150+ beats per minute. Stuck.
The
Lesson
Oh,
to be a paralytic! Although we don’t know
fully how to handle what it means to be a paralytic, we can only imagine the
heartache, the hurt, the loneliness that comes with that state. And so it is with many who suffer with a debilitating
illness. While many things don’t work in
the way you want them to…. While what
used to be a simple task is now so daunting, you don’t… When just trying to breathe, takes too much
effort, Princess will tell you that just maybe those things that she
experiences just might be a glimpse of someone in the Bible that, he too, was dependent
upon others.
Many
of you know that we are blessed to attend church at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship.
Often, we describe the weekly message as
“getting our teeth kicked in.” Simply,
Dr. Tony Evans can present the Bible and its message in such practical and
simple ways that we leave spiritually full every week. Additionally, as has been his practice for
many years, he takes the month of August off for a sabbatical. Making sure that the congregation is in good
hands to still hear good, sound teaching, he will make sure to provide visiting
pastors to come and preach. This August
has certainly not disappointed. Why? Dr. Evans pulled from the bench his very own
son, Jonathan. Jonathan is amazingly
blessed and gifted in his own ways and has been challenging us with his own
series, titled: the Message in the Miracles.
On the first Sunday, Jonathan took us to the book of Mark,
Chapter 2. The Miracle? The healing of the paralytic. And while there was indeed a message in the miracle,
Jonathan directed us to a verse that like us, maybe you have even overlooked. Beginning in Verse 3 it says, “And they came,
bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. 4 Being unable to
get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they
had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.”
Just being weeks removed from the hospital, Princess has
found herself to be in a similar situation to the paralytic. Stuck.
Dependent upon others for much.
And it was in this part of the message from Pastor Jonathan that the
message hit home. Four men… While the passage doesn’t tell us exactly who
these men were, the fact is, these four men surrounded the paralytic and went
the extra mile. They were there for
him. They literally were carrying him on
his pallet. Further, they knew what
Jesus was able to do for their friend. For
them, it was to get their friend to the One that could heal. As the passage goes on to state, these men,
not being able to get to Jesus, decided to get their paralyzed friend up on the
roof. Climbing stairs, the men in front most
likely had to awkwardly lean down going up the stairs, while the friends in the
back had to lift their arms most likely or position the pallet on their
shoulders so that a coordinated effort was done to not drop their friend. And as Jonathan then also shared with us, the
friends began to dig through the roof of this home. Going through layer after layer, probably at
this point exhausted, tired, breathing hard, and sweating, I would imagine. All for the sake of a friend in need. And what came of the friends’ effort? Healing.
A miracle!
In our own world in the weeks following July 6th,
Princess has become weak; however, four friends, not coincidentally, yet
providentially have in their own unique ways each been to her one of these
four men all within that particular week.
It was after hearing this message that the Lord spoke to us and reminded
us that He truly does care for us in a time of need. Amen!
Each friend, four to be exact, made sacrifices to come to Princess in
the middle of family time and amidst preparation for overseas travel… spend
time over the phone when it was probably inconvenient and found an opportunity to
be an encourager even in their time of need…to spending an entire day just
listening and supporting, and crying with… and even break away from routine to
spend some time to just hang. And while
we know in the end that the paralytic was healed and went home, I wonder if the
four friends truly understood what they gave up to deliver their friend to a miracle? I wonder if the four friends ever realized
the change in trajectory they caused, that because of their faith in Jesus, the
paralytic was not longer stuck. I wonder
if the four friends would do it again or perhaps do things differently?
And therefore, for Princess, the same. Proverbs 18:24 says, “there is a friend that
sticks closer than a brother.” Indeed,
what great friends! Proverbs 17:17, “A
friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Praise the Lord for the four friends that stay
with you when times are tough. Praise
the Lord for the friends who, yet we don’t know, are becoming our pallet
bearers! I know for Princess, her “four
men” were an answer to prayer and a great encouragement! She already misses them so much. So, if you are stuck, may you be blessed with
pallet bearers around you. Not stuck? If you see a friend, or for that matter, anyone
in need, will you be their pallet bearer?
Want to be encouraged
further? Check out Jonathan Evans’
message!