In the Cementerio de la Soledad in Huelva, Spain, there is a gravestone that reads, "William Martin, born 29 March 1907, died 24 April 1943, beloved son of John Glyndwyr Martin and the late Antonia Martin of Cardiff, Wales."
The call came in last night from my youngest daughter.
The first Sunday of June is always a very special day for Dana and me. June 1, 1997, was the day the Cornerstone Baptist Church was born. It was us and one old couple up in their 70s that just a few weeks before had been commissioned by our home church to start the new work.
Grief is certainly not the right word, though I am not quite sure what is.
If you asked me how I came to be the piano player in the local prison, I would have to answer honestly, "Because the other guy got paroled."
A few years ago, I crossed an item off my bucket list, and it is an item that has been on the list for probably 30 years or more. I am now a certified scuba diver. Having completed my four open-water dives in a local quarry, I can now add a red sticker with a white stripe to the back of my vehicles. Believe me, it is an awesome experience.
I think I may have done significant damage to my hip.
The Scriptural basics about marriage are both lovely and easy to be understood.
My smile was forced and my voice, though I determined to make it pleasant, had to have sounded strained nonetheless.
"And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice." - 2 Kings 13:18-19
