Dear Doris,I want...
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Dear Doris,
I want to thank you for your beautiful letter of sympathy. Your words about Tom and your concern for me meant more than I can tell you.
Day by day I am continuing to learn what Tom and I started to discover during the long months of his illness -- that even the darkness is a time of our growth. I don't mean that in any light or simple way. The cancer itself came as a terrible shock. We had our times of struggle. It is not possible to gloss over such a thing with pious words. At least that is something I cannot do, and I don't think that any one of us is meant to. The hurts of our lives are too real for that. At the same time, for all our imperfections (and I think you have known them as well as anyone!) Tom and I, by the grace of God, shared a genuine faith. As the illness deepened so did our need, and we found ourselves bound more closely to the Loving One than we had been before. The days of endurance turned into a season of simply resting on God. In the resting we found a strength we did not expect. At the last, we found ourselves sharing a hope that even now I can not fully put into words.
Thank you for the promise of your continued prayers. I need them. I am still just learning. With love,
Helen
I want to thank you for your beautiful letter of sympathy. Your words about Tom and your concern for me meant more than I can tell you.
Day by day I am continuing to learn what Tom and I started to discover during the long months of his illness -- that even the darkness is a time of our growth. I don't mean that in any light or simple way. The cancer itself came as a terrible shock. We had our times of struggle. It is not possible to gloss over such a thing with pious words. At least that is something I cannot do, and I don't think that any one of us is meant to. The hurts of our lives are too real for that. At the same time, for all our imperfections (and I think you have known them as well as anyone!) Tom and I, by the grace of God, shared a genuine faith. As the illness deepened so did our need, and we found ourselves bound more closely to the Loving One than we had been before. The days of endurance turned into a season of simply resting on God. In the resting we found a strength we did not expect. At the last, we found ourselves sharing a hope that even now I can not fully put into words.
Thank you for the promise of your continued prayers. I need them. I am still just learning. With love,
Helen
