March 2010
Dear friends and family,
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support and encouragement in our Bible translation ministry.
Over the last weeks I have been blessed beyond words to have gotten to know Nathan’s father, Charles Miles, as he has lived with us. Nathan’s folks, Charles and Virginia moved down from Indiana over New Year’s week so that we could be involved in their care. Virginia is in a nearby nursing home, and Charles has lived in our home until a couple of weeks ago when he was admitted to the hospital.
During one 10 day stint, Nathan was in Canada for UBS work meetings, while I held down the fort in Dallas. Especially during that time Granddad Miles told me lots of touching things. Sometimes he talked about many hard things he has been through, or about his view of life. Sometimes his concern was more about eating the right amount of prunes or finding a radio station to listen to. He read his large-print Bible every single day. ‘It’s very, very important,’ he said. What a treasure of a guy--steady, faithful, resourceful, responsible, caring, godly. Now I see where Nathan got those character traits.
One evening Granddad mused, ‘I wonder why I’m still here. Maybe I lived too long. I can’t even take care of myself anymore, much less anyone else. What’s the point?’ I told him, ‘Granddad, there’s a verse in Psalms 139 that says that God planned how many days you would live. He says that he wrote down the number of your days in his book, back before you lived through even one of them. You know, God is in charge of how long we live. He must have a purpose for keeping you here. But I can tell you one thing. You inspire us all. You have lived through some very hard things, and you have been faithful over the long haul. All of us—your children and your grandchildren and your great grandchildren—will look back at your example our whole lives, and we will know that that is the way we want to be. You are a model for us. Thank you, Granddad, for living that kind of life.’ He reached his small boney hand out for mine and pulled it over onto the arm of the wheel chair next to him, and we sat there for a long time in silence, with tears in our eyes.
I thought you might be inspired, as I have been, by the mental picture of 87 year old Granddad Miles hunched with his grey head down focused on reading his large-print Bible every day. Granddad is right. God’s Word is ‘very, very important.’ I am glad to be a part of a global team, translating the Bible for the peoples of the world who still waiting to have it in their own languages. This day, this week, this month, may God find us faithful as we serve Him.
Blessings,
Marsha Miles
(for Nathan and our clan)
