Rough Day

This weekend went well. We had a busy day on Saturday with the Iowa State Bible Bowl. Our congregation hosts this event every year and it went off without a hitch. Karl participated on a team and did real well (his team placed 2nd). The kids team placed 4th - they did very well. One of our elders who is always at the Bible Bowl had to have surgery last week and was not able to go home until Saturday - this was the first Bible bowl his has missed since it stared. This was the 22nd year. We were sad that he was not able to be there - he was also sad that he was not able to come. He is a very knowledgeable man. We missed him a lot.
Sunday morning after worship the phone rang and it was Derald (the elder) calling to tell us that his wife passed away. This was a shock as she was in fair health - he was the one having the problems. She woke up not feeling well and went to lay down to take a nap and never woke up. It has been hard dealing with this as it just hits a little to close to home. She was a rock and a mother/grandmother to all. She made sure everything was done and taken care of. We are already a miss without her. It is hard to loose people here on earth. We know Winnie will be better off and know she is not longer in pain. We rejoice in the fact that she was a Christian and lived her life to serve Christ. We know that she is safe in the arms of our Lord, but we are still saddened by the fact that our comfort is gone. Our foundation here on earth is shifting and tilted a little as one of our number is now gone.
I have cried a lot in the past 24 hours as Winnie was like a grandmother away from home. We will miss her a lot. I know I will have more tears as the week moves on the final preparations are made. But I know I will have tears of joy when I see her again on the other side.
Please pray for our church family and this loss. Also please pray for Derald and his loss, he also lost a brother yesterday. This was after having surgery on Thursday to have two stints put in his leg and one in his heart. He has had a very hard week. Please pray for the Lewis family.