The Can-Can

It is something to be able to paint a picture or carve a statue and to make a few beautiful objects... But it is far more glorious to carve and paint the atmosphere in which we work to affect the quality of days. This is the highest of arts...

The above quote was on a plaque hanging on the wall in the Gift of Life Transplant House. It reminds me of all the Lord is teaching us through Paul's kidney transplant. It's all about Jesus' love flowing through us everywhere we go. His love can change the atmosphere in a room and transform lives. Because of the kidney transplant, we are "forever" changed!

Tomorrow is Paul Franklin's 56th birthday! It is also his 6 month post-transplant milestone! I guess we don't need one more thing for Christmas. God has blessed us far more than what we deserve. Each day if a gift from Him... We've been having Christmas every day since the transplant.

There are days that you wonder why God lets certain things happen in our lives. The transplant was one of those 'big question marks' to us.... We trusted Him in the dark..... those days and months we just couldn't see, but we had a history with Him and knew HE NEVER MAKES A MISTAKE. He has been sooooo faithful to us....... The transplant has changed our perspective on so many things. It's so hard to explain, but we'd never go back to the 'pre-transplant' us. If we had the power to write our own life's story, we'd write the kidney transplant in our lives. It was our family's "defining" moment! Suddenly the eternal is far more real than the temporary.
While we were in Rochester, Minnesota, there was a day when we were walking the halls of the Methodist Hospital and saw a quote by John Wesley.


Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
to all the souls you can,
in every place you can,
at all the times you can,
with all the zeal you can,
as long as you ever can....

When Paul and I read that we almost started doing the "Can Can." We had been in fulltime ministry for 26 years and felt we loved people, but the kidney transplant took us to a new level of compassion. We made a fresh committment to the Lord..... We were keenly aware that we had more years behind us than ahead of us and the time we had left we were going to love God and love others sincerely and fervently.


Our hearts are filled with gratitude that Paul Franklin is doing so well and that we are blessed to celebrate his 56th birthday!

Happy birthday, Kidney Bean!

Christmas blessings,
Dixie