New Year celebrations are not what they used to be when we were younger. These days they tend to be more reflective than celebratory, a function not only of the physical limitations of age, but a recognition that there is still a whole pile of things left to do, and an increasingly limited amount of time to do them in.

This coming year is no exception. I won’t bore you with our To Do list for the year, but when we talked it through on New Year’s Eve, as is our custom, it looked pretty daunting. It also looked pretty fun, at least most of it did. There is a wedding coming up and the birth of a new grandkid; some ministry endeavors in Cambodia and some interesting travel opportunities. It all looks pretty good; we are just going to need to stay strong and healthy to get through it all.

Both of us continue to be amazed that the Lord finds so much for us to do at our age. Pam met with two members of her TWR team in Singapore, and came away with further increased responsibilities and opportunities as a result. My own responsibilities at school continue to grow as I have now become the veteran on staff after just three years and a leader in the recruitment of students for our program, a position that may involve some travel in the near future. We have long ago given up the idea that this part if our life would lead us to a gentle semi-retirement. Instead we seem to be busier than ever.

However, none of this would be possible without our kids, and that is the purpose of this post. We are here and able to stay here because are kids are doing such a fantastic job of looking after themselves back in Canada. Now you might say that because they have all reached or are approaching 30 that this goes without saying. Okay, perhaps. But how many 30-somethings do you know that are not still relying on their parents for some level of emotional or financial support. Not many in our experience. How many are conducting their lives in a way that does not provoke some level of parental anxiety or concern. Even fewer.

Our kids are not perfect. That ended when they became teenagers! But they are all doing extremely well, and we thank God for that. They are meeting their challenges, they are making responsible decisions and they are mastering the consequences for those decisions. Of course we miss them, particularly at this time of year. But we are able to get on with our lives because they are getting on with theirs. They enable our ministry just by the way they conduct themselves. This gives us great comfort and even motivation in what we are doing on this side of the world. Our kids are a blessing and an inspiration to us; we wish them a very happy and successful new year.