The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

It may be wrong to speak forthrightly about one’s spiritual gift, but I have long believed the LORD gave me the gift of encouragement. I love to laugh, and while I never actually plan

to laugh, I enjoy making other people laugh, too.

We’ve been to a lot of doctors with the past few months, and their waiting rooms are always crowded with people with various hurts and ailements. One day Rose Marie wore a

surgical mask to keep from catching the caughs and sneezes of others. I had wheeled her

in in a wheelchair and left to park the car. When I returned to the waiting room, a number

of people were wearing masks as well. I looked dumbfounded as I searched the room for

my wife, and with a quizical look on my face I walked up to her and lowered her mask to

see if she were the one I had brought in earlier. The room roared in laughter!

The past five or six months have not been easy for either of us –or for our children and grandchildren. Yet, we have not become cynical or angry. Rather, we have found ourselves in the company of people whom we would never have encountered except for Rose Marie’s illnesses. At times, it has been viewed as a high price to pay, yet our LORD Jesus Christ paid a much higher price for sins not His own! And through some anxious moments, He has caused some lost souls to find our pathway and hear of the LORD’s blessings we’ve been privileged to encounter.

Yes, “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine,” but a “broken spirit” – a sour, aching, complaining spirit – just “dries up the bones.” Don’t give up! Whatever malady comes your way, however dismal the night or the day, DON’T GIVE UP! Look to our loving LORD, whose ever-present attitude is one of merriment.

We love and appreciate all of you, especially those whose skills are so encouraging,

Nana & Dado III

(Rose Marie & Gene)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”