To Flint Once Again

In the last few days, I have received two rather desperate e-mail messages from our dear friend in Flint, Leroy Jolly. He is a dear man of God and I have spoken of him before in this blog. Last August, feeling compelled to visit because his wife and companion, Wilma, was failing, we spent two nights and a couple of days with them. We know them as former neighbors when we lived in the town limits of De Motte forty years ago. Our relationship has continued through all the years and experiences that have followed.

Wilma recently had another stroke and spent several weeks in the hospital and has now been transfered to a nursing home where she can receive around the clock care. One of the messages I received was that Wilma will probably not walk again or be able to use her left arm again as a result of this recent stroke. Rehabilitation is so painful and uncomfortable for her. One can hear the sorrow in Leroy's words and our hearts cry out to the Lord for mercy in their situation. Last evening, we called to talk with Leroy. He spoke with great confidence and faith asking us to pray for a miracle for Wilma. He mused over the good marriage they have had for over fifty years and the wonderful wife and friend Wilma is to him. At one point, he broke down and sobbed. Ken was on one phone and I on another. Our hearts broke for him. We feel so helpless to help him though we know our prayers for him and Wilma do more than we could do if we were there physically.

After we ended our conversation, we looked at each other and said, "Should we go?" Flint is a good five hour trip but there are dear friends there that need a hug and some encouragement. Ken had a meeting this morning and we thought we may leave after the meeting. That would make our arrival there late afternoon and we know that Leroy makes his visits from around 8 a.m. to 4 p.m so that he gets home in the light. We figured we may not get ther until after that considering there is an hour time change. Later in the evening, Ken came to me and said, "I'm going to change my meeting and we will leave right after we take Isaiah to school". So, in an hour and a half we will be on our way to see our precious friends. As a dear pastor friend of ours once preached, "When you go out to minister, take your towel along, there may be tears to dry." I'm sure there will be tears to dry today when we visit Leroy and Wilma. The comfort we give is small indeed compared to the comfort the Lord Jesus can give. We ask His presence to accompany us on our sad mission.

Road trip.......seems like there are many of them lately. Some of them exciting, some of them mandatory, some of them sad. Today is a sad one, but we hope to receive joy from the fellowship we will have with our brother and sister in the Lord. We will try to make this trip in one day. I praise God for good weather, good roads and a good vehicle. We are so blessed.