Sunrise

February 25, 2017 9:31 pm Published by Grace Fabian Leave your thoughts

Dear Friends,

2016 has now settled firmly into that captivating but mysterious land called Memory, so I thought I would revisit it one last time before packing it away for good. It was a monumental year for me in many ways, and so it is worth reflecting on once more. I’ll begin with a sort of tradition of mine.

Every year I choose a verse from the Bible. Each year the verse is different and I choose it after reflecting on the year that is ending. The verse for 2017 is Luke 1:78-79. Perhaps I chose it because of the recent death of my sister, Carmilla, who was legally blind and had fallen several times. Or maybe I was drawn to this verse because, in the process of cleaning up after the holidays I stumbled over a box that shouldn’t have been where it was. I didn’t see it in the darkness of night, and I had a bit of a fright.

…because of the tender mercy of our God whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1 tells us about people stumbling along before God’s light came – We do stumble in the darkness, don’t we? We flounder in relationships and wonder how things became so broken. We bungle our walk with the Lord and wonder if we have understood His voice. We stammer over words, trying to get our point across. And we err in trying to find our way when traveling to a new place. Where am I supposed to turn? I have found myself in each of these situations in 2016.

In each case I have turned to this “Sunrise” for insight, for wisdom and peace. In the margin of my Bible I have listed the various names and descriptions of Jesus. Today, I added “Sunrise” and “dawn from on high”. Isn’t that a lovely thought? I know on these cold February mornings when the sun comes up warming my office it is very comforting and exhilarating. And when Jesus comes in to the lives of us stumblers, He brings life-giving light and the warmth of His sweet presence. It has been a high privilege to walk with Him in 2016.

The highlight of the year was visiting Anthony and Heidi and my two adorable grandchildren, Nathaniel (2 ½) and Hannah (10 mos). While in turkey there was an attempted coup d’etat; Extra excitement on top of amazing historical sights and relaxing time at their home sharing and playing.

I had 97 speaking events this year. My son-in-law jokingly quipped, “When are you going to get moving?” The speaking included teaching linguistics to potential Bible translators in Pennsylvania and Illinois. I taught lessons with Perspectives on the World Christian Movement classes in PA, Massachusetts and Maryland. I spoke to many women’s groups in New Jersey, Virginia, Pa and in New York state. I promoted Bible translation with meetings in California, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky. It was great fun being missionary-for-the-week at a VBS at my home church in Otego, NY.

And here are a few other statistics –