The lyrics of a song from the sixties, "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world", reflect our feelings over the past few months. Beside our relationship with the Lord, people are most important. Today it was reinforced when we spent time with a very dear person in our lives. We went with the expectation of discussing future involvements, but she had prepared the most wonderful meal including a side dish of chicken and ice cream for our dogs. (We are dog sitting our son, Roger's, dog for the next six weeks as he is on assignment in Danville, VA.) We had no idea that we would be treated to such a special time and meal. It certainly exceeded our expectations, and we went away totally encouraged and refreshed.  We were truly fortunate to share in this experience which solitifies the fact that, "people need people".

This past weekend our daughter, Rebecca, came home with her fiance for the first time. They plan to marry on July 7th in the Atlanta, GA area. They prepared a gourmet meal for us on Sunday which included a salad made of greens fresh from his garden in Atlanta, believe it or not.  Rick fit right in as part of the family and was eager to assist in whatever way possible. We were very delighted in observing their warm loving relationship which included exceptional communication between the two of them and with us. For almost forty years we have been praying for Rebecca's future mate and Rick is an answer to these prayers. We are excited about having him as a part of our family, as "people need people".

Recently, we ran into a person who had been following our CaringBridge website. She revealed to Gail that she had been closely following our daily postings and other people who had responded on the site. In fact, she even printed off the postings that had ministered to her immensely as she had been going through very difficult times with the health of a close relative. Even though we shared Scripture that had meant a lot to us as we journeyed through our experience with Paul's health, it is a blessing to know that it also encouraged others. This brings to mind a Scripture in II Corinthians 1:4 in The Message which reads, "He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us."  People need the Lord and "people need people".


Paul continues to improve and is gaining strength.

Blessings and Encouragement,

Paul and Gail

P.S. The picture was taken at a sweetheart banquet a week ago. God has truly blessed us with each other, and we praise Him for that.