"It's blank"

We got to Bay City this morning and haven't really stopped until just now.

We stopped by Chris' Dad's house to pick up her sister this morning. They were going to pick out the flowers for the casket spray. Not that I was particularly excited about joining them. But the rooms was not yet ready at the hotel. I even got to ride along as they stopped by the funeral home. The guy there wanted to know if it was OK for them to refer to me as Brother. I told him I get called all kinds of things. Chris said the people at church call him PK. That stumped him. I don't know what I'll get called now.

We left there and drove clear to the next town to reserve the Van Vleck Community Center for the meal after the graveside service. Took us five, maybe ten minutes. We are in rural America here.

When we dropped Chris' sister off back at the house, her Dad came outside and asked me if I could possibly come inside and look up one of the online postings of the obituary for him. He wanted it printed out. I was happy to do it. Quite a difference from the last time I was there. He seems to have moved from anger to real grief now. I pray he will keep on moving and get through this in a healthy way.

Now Chris has crashed on the bed in the hotel room. We have a few quiet minutes before we have to be at the funeral home. I am borrowing Nathan's laptop. At least the hotel has free internet. The problem is that our laptop monitor is no more. It has gone completely blank. For the last few days it has been flickering just enough that I figured it was my old eyes. Then it started going completely dark instead of showing the screensaver slideshow. Kel was going to look at it for me when he gets here, but now there's nothing there to look at. Oh, boy. Just what I wanted. Another expense. I'll put that one on the list with chopping down the pecan tree in the back yard and having the stump ground. When will that happen? Who knows.

James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Father, I guess since I'm to be called Brother, this applies to be. Thanks for the trials. Whatever they are going to look like. Amen.