Some things change....and for Pastor it was a sneaky adjustment from a hoary head of wisdom to a sphere of peach fuzz to adorn his skull. Louise walked in their bathroom one evening to find Pastor standing there with the razor, unable to finish the job he had begun to shave his head. With his large brace, the back portion that fits round his head was constantly pushing his hair up and creating a moppy mess that irritated him. He wanted it gone. So out with the clippers and off with the rest! He now loves it, and the rest of us can't say much about it, other than that it is gone.
Some things stay the same...that stubborn streak you all know is as strong as ever. This is great when Pastor is applying it to his exercises and blood sugar management, but not so good at other times. For
On a much lighter note, get ready to laugh. Preaching has been better than ever. Each week, Pastor is stronger and feels less and less tuckered at the end of the day. The messages have hopefully been a blessing to others. The Lord has taught him many things through this experience and the sharing of those in messages has truly been rewarding. However, the delivery of these messages has at times been humbling. One Sunday after the song special, he rose from his chair to approach the pulpit. The attitude in the sanctuary was reverant and hearts were prepared, until two steps into his approach, his dress pants fell straight to his ankles. Yes, you read correctly, he now has experienced a more embarrassing moment than any of you preachers out there. You see, at this point, he has lost some 38 pounds. A belt cannot be worn under his body brace, which used to hold up those pants just fine. So for the last few Sundays, he has worn suspenders, and we have accepted seeing the color of his socks over the color of his boxers. Now how's that for a good laugh! Go ahead, he laughed at himself too...
We would ask that you please continue to pray during this time of recovery. His doctors have taken away his walker, he is completely off pain medication, and should be able to have his brace taken away after the first of the year. At that time, he will need to start physical therapy again for a different set of challenges in learning to use those muscle groups again. Blood sugar management is still a struggle, though we have seen some positive changes of late. We just need them to be more consistent. Thank you all. We love you.