I just talked with my sister Judy who reports that all the Stuit's had a good night. Marc had a good night's rest, he was very tired after the visit from his siblings, so we are not only thankful for the good visit they all had, but for the rest after.
Last night, Marc's parents and Judy's parents all viewed a DVD of Kari's choir concert presented at Faith CRC on April 6. Music has always been very important to Marc, he was member of the Gospel Singers Male Chorus of Oskaloosa for many years. There was also a conversation about will we have work to do in Heaven, to which Marc commented that he might need a little break before starting his Heavenly Work, this old body is pretty tired.
Medically speaking, Mark is on oxygen and is receiving pain medication from a nurse from Hospice that comes to their home. His breathing can become very labored because of the tumors in his lung.
So Today has the promise of being a good day. Kari will be preparing for Prom at Pella Christian High, Judy will be able to attend the "walk in" for that, Marc's parents will be able to spend more time with him, and we will all feel the strength that God continues to provide in response to the prayers of so many of our friends and family.
God is good.
I would also encourage you to leave a comment for Marc and Judy here on this blog. They are encouraged, lifted up, and humbled by the impact Marc has had on so many lives. He truly loved his work at Pella Corp, and misses those he worked with there, so thank you to fellow employees who have commented so far!
Seize the day.
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3 comments:
Hello Stuit Family from sunny Florida! We are very sad to hear of your diagnosis, Marc, and continue to hold you, Jude, and the whole family in our thoughts and prayers. We are thankful with you for the good visit you had with your family this week. I'm sure Kari will look beautiful tonight for her Prom.
Just a quick update on the Pleimas. Shaun is finishing his first year at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He will be home next week for the summer. Renae is finishing up her final internship in a local 4th grade classroom and will graduate on May 5th with a degree in Elementary Education. She is busy seeking gainful employment for the fall. She is also excited to have signed a lease on an apt. and will be moving out of the house in May. Steve & I haven't figured out how to get both kids out of the house at the same time yet! ha, ha. Steve and I are both busy keeping up with the kids, work, and moving the kids back and forth. We are enjoying the lack of cold and snow, something you seemed to have in abundance this year. We did experience your snow and cold during Christmas, and that was enough to last us for quite a while.
Marc & Jude, you both have always been a special part of our lives. We love and appreciate you. Sending our love, hugs and prayers across the miles. Wish we could deliver them in person.
Steve, Rhonda, Renae & Shaun Pleima
Lakeland, Florida
To Marc, Jude, Kari, Justin, and Denise. My prayers are going out for each one of you throughout these days. I was so sad to hear the news when I visited with Justin recently. You are all very special to me, and I have spent many good times at your house through my friendship over the years with Justin. Kari hope you have a great time at prom tonight. Jude you are very good at getting me to talk, and I'm thankful for times like that. Justin my dear buddy you've been such an important part of my life and been there in a positive way, stay strong and my prayers are going out especially for you and Denise too. Marc on behalf of my whole family we are sadenned. we also praise God in how he is holding you and we pray for peace as your journey continues. I am thankful for times when I've talked to you too when I've been over. to all of you, my thoughts and prayers. I am thankful for the positive reports that are posted here, and pray God may bless you with even more peace and nearness in the coming days.
Love in Christ,
Alan Groenendyk
Leighton IA
I sit here this morning trying to find the right words to type to you and your family Marc, but my mind is only filled with fond memories of our childhood as we grew up in Tracy many, dare I say it again, many years ago! My mind tells me it was just yesterday that we were riding our bikes on the streets of Tracy but the calendar tells me it has been along the lines of 40 years ago, also 40 years since our paths have crossed...I would much rather accept my minds belief of it being "just yesterday" when we ran the streets of Tracy, however getting out of bed this morning my body reminded me rather rudely that I am a man on the brink of turning 50 in a few short months....lol!
Turning the clock back a bit though do you recall playing in the creek behind the parsonage where your family lived? Many a warm summer day I would ride my bike down from my home to the bridge crossing the creek to find you and your brothers and your sister frollicking in the water....if memory serves me correctly the Stuit boys also seemed to like to do a little skinny dipping now and then in that creek:)
How about the softball games we played in the large yard behind the church or in the lot by the post office? Your brothers and sister, and me with all my sisters...many a game off all star quality were played in the afternoon and evenings in that small town!
I mentioned earlier of riding our bikes around town, remember racing each other down the street in front of the post office? Seems like we could do that for hours on end and every once and a while we would really step it up a notch and ride all the way out to highway 92 and back. It seemed like such a distance to ride back then and I suppose given our ages, it was! Sometimes we would stop at the Tracy Store after riding our bikes and buy a bottle of pop (the old glass bottles of pop..remember the mountain dew bottles that had the hillbilly on it and the words "ya hoo mountain dew"???) To this day when I drive down that road from 92 to Tracy I still think of our bikes rides:)
Who can forget the hot summer days out at Case Van Arkels farm. You and your brothers would help Case bale hay and I would sometimes tag along. I was probably more of a hindrance to the project given I was too young to really be of much help (or is that just a way of saying I was lazy...hmmm) but I have fond memories of those days. Remember when Case would place watermelons in the livestock water tank in the mornings before we went out to bale, then late in the afternoon when we came back to the farm, he would pull the watermelons from the tank, chilled cold from being in the water and we would all sit in the shade,watch Case take his pocket knife and slice off large pieces of watermelon that we would all devour? One can't forget about coming back at noon from the field either to their house where Rachel would have ready a feast of a meal for all of us...roast beef, mashed potatos, homemade bread hot out of the oven and then dessert, be it a freshly baked pie or a bowl of peaches..before we would eat Rachel would read from the bible and then grace would be said. We would look at each other, in agony it almost seemed, as we waited for her to finish the reading and then for Case to say grace before we could eat! Case also seemed to enjoy his cigars and I do believe a few young boys enjoyed(?) their first puffs of tobacco from those cigars:)
I could go on and on Marc but think I will close with this memory. Remember those hot lazy summers days when we would just lay in the grass, not a care in the world, a gentle breeze cooling us as we would chew on sweet clover. We used to talk about how rich and successful we would be when we grew up. Be it from becoming a professional baseball player or maybe as an Astronaut. While time has faded away from me exactly what we said we knew our careers would be one day we did get one thing correct Marc. We truly did become rich, not necessarily from money and fame but rather from the real treasures in life, that being the love and company of family, friends and our faith in God.
My thoughts are with you and your family Marc. Steve Arkema
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