5-6-04
“Do not fear, for I am with
you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.“ Isaiah 41:10
Dear Family and Friends,
I know that when I start receiving emails inquiring into Tim’s health that it is
time to post an update. Life has been very busy lately.
Tim is stable again. He finished off his last round of antibiotics on the 26th
of April, and then I watched him like a hawk for the next ten days to see if his
infection would return. Yesterday, I got a little nervous because he looked ill
and his respiration and heart rate were a little elevated. But, I guess I was
paranoid, because today he is just fine. He has not been responding. We are back
to square one - again.
We have had company off and on for the past two weeks. Good distractions for the
kids and I. Linda, Tim’s friend from college, came last weekend and brought me a
real treat. She had compiled a book with some photos and emails from our friends
and family about Tim as a Mother‘s Day gift. I want to thank all of you for your
kind letters. You made me laugh, you made me cry. I was amazed at how much
Daniel resembled his dad’s baby pictures. I wanted to share a portion of a
letter with you that has a story that is so vintage Tim:
It is hard to put into words the impact that Tim Jones had upon our lives
during the short time we were privileged to call him a friend. One of the many
things we appreciated about Tim was his dry, homespun style of humor. One time
in particular, Tim’s humor brought a divine peace to me (Merry) in a stressful
time. We were preparing for Becky, Rachel, Daniel and Dusty, their beautiful
black lab, to stay with us while Tim and Carole returned to the states for
Carole’s cancer treatment. Though we considered the Jones’ to be very good
friends, we had only been with them in very controlled situations, such as
church, Bible study, or planned outings. The children were so exemplary, and I
was a bit tense about having them stay with our very fallible family, wondering
if I could possibly create a stable, comfortable situation for them at this
difficult time. At the appointed time, Tim arrived with the kids and they were
lined up at the door bearing suitcases, schoolbooks, pillows, etc. Dusty was
prancing around in her usual excited fashion. Tim hollered in through the screen
door, “THE CLAMPET‘S ARE HERE!” Those were just the words I needed to hear. I
may have trouble accommodating little dukes and duchesses, but I could handle
the Clampet’s! I immediately relaxed and felt that this was going to be OK. And
that’s exactly how it was! Becky, Rachel, and Daniel were cooperative, polite,
flexible, and FUN. Our family will be forever blessed from the time we had them
with us…
That was an excerpt from a letter that I received from the Dawson family. One of
my favorite things about Tim is his sense of humor.
This month, Tim will end his employment with the Dept. of Defense. His leave
runs out in about two weeks. I was so thankful that we were given so much time
to see what would happen with Tim’s condition. Now, things will get
“interesting” financially, but I am calm. As Hudson Taylor used to say, “Now we
have an opportunity to see what God can do.” I sat down the other night and,
just for kicks, added up all the paid medical bills from the first of the year.
I won’t tell you the amount, but I will tell you that I was stunned at the
total, and completely in awe of the Lord’s provision. Reminded me of our
earlier, leaner years together when Tim supported our family on Guam with his
teacher’s salary. We always got to the end of the year with the bills paid and
no debt, but we really didn’t understand how it happened. We were both pretty
good at math, but two plus two didn’t equal four in our budget. It was more like
two plus two equals eight. Another of the Lord’s specialties - multiplying fish
and loaves. I thank God every single day for His faithfulness in providing for
Tim and I and the kids. I am also thankful for Tim’s wacky sense of humor which
has been genetically transmitted to all three of his kids. The kids and I were
discussing our situation before prayer time one evening and we finally decided
that if things got really tight, we’d just start visiting all the relatives that
we have never visited or imposed on since we have lived mainly overseas. So,
consider yourselves warned!! Just kidding.
Thanks again for continuing to pray and think of Tim.
In His Grip,
Carole and Kids