Tue Dec 24 11:26 EST 1996
The house

>How's the house situation, Mark?

I thought I sent this out.  The showing last Friday resulted in
uninterested prospects.  I guess that would mean they're not
prospects anymore.  One of the boys left the house saying, "I
want to live here!"  This couple said the house was "too small"
and so I figure their furniture won't fit, they want bigger (but
fewer) rooms, or they haven't been in the market long to realize
the value we present in our home and price.  In any case, they're
not the ones to buy the house, although we thought that our home
would have been perfect for a family of 4.

Our showing today was postponed until Friday.  The woman called
apologizing saying that she didn't realize that it would be
Christmas Eve when they set the date.  The tone of the call was
very nice.  This couple (she's a lawyer; he works at Digital 4 miles
from the house) has four children about the ages of our kids when we
first moved into the house.  One might think that a family of 6
wouldn't want a house that a family of 4 thought was too small but
you never know.  This family may be thinking that they only have
money to buy their first house and our house provides the number
of rooms (admittedly smaller) that can accomodate their family.
The rollercoaster is on it's incline again until Friday.

The negotiations on the house in Pepperell are going slowly but
nicely.  The owner called Joy the other day, we think because he
is not getting the service out of his real estate agent that he should
be getting.  We don't think she's passed on our questions to him,
either.  The tone of the phone call was cordial and warm; I read a
lot into that.

The emotional highs and lows are draining and I over-analyze and
over-spiritualize everything during these emotional times.  THAT in
itself gives me pause for thought.  Do the stressful emotions drive
one's spirituality, or do they make one more sensitive?  I'm not
sure I like the prospect of either answer.  I confess that I don't
much like the lessons of patience and whatever else is in the mix,
even though I realize that we all have stresses in our lives.
I have a calendar sheet saved on my desk that says, "I've learned that
life is hard, but God is good."  The shame of it is that my life is not
nearly as hard as some (make that ALL) of my own family has had, and
I am ashamed to consider my stresses as consequential by comparison.
I have come to firmly believe that *God is good*, and that conviction
is my own.  I have had it reinforced by my brothers who have asserted
the same and have endured greater hardships, and my parents who have
weathered each of our storms as if they were their own.  I am grateful
for God's blessing on my life.  Many people have commented that they
think I lead a charmed life.  My life isn't charmed - it is blessed.

I want to bless each of you in the name of our personal Lord Jesus Christ,
not only for this Christmas but for the rest of our lives until He comes
again.  Merry Christmas!  I'll see some of you tomorrow!

Mark
  ,          Mark Metcalfe  ,d88b.d88b,  O love that will not let me go
  \_0__,    (508) 446-6451  88888888888   I rest my weary soul in Thee
    M                       `Y8888888Y'  I give Thee back the life I owe
   .|\. metcalfe@cadence.com  `Y888Y'   That in Thine ocean depths its
  Cadence Design Systems, Inc.  `Y'   flow may richer, fuller be.