Greetings from Mebane (NC), Raleigh (NC) and St. Louis (MO). 2023 was quite the year for The Berkels. It was a year of celebrations, health challenges, transitions and yet another one of our children one upping their father. He can still take them in Spades and Dominoes, and always will!
We were able to all be together a few times this year and most recently spent Thanksgiving together in St. Louis. The highlights of that trip include the stop at Buffalo Trace on the way there, hanging out in St Charles and having Emma introduce us to some of her family traditions. Here are some updates on each of us.
Tiara – is halfway through 8th grade and is looking forward to starting high school next year. She continues to enjoy singing: at church, with the Greensboro Youth Chorus including performing in an opera with the Greensboro Opera and with her school choir. Her school choir participated in several events and was recently recognized as one of the top 2 school choirs in the state (including high schools). Tiara also made the all-state choir and was able to perform with over 250 students from around the state, taught by world renowned conductors.
Tianna – joined her brother in one upping their father. Glen had just turned 23 when we got married and a couple of years ago Braxton bested that by getting married a couple of months after turning 22. Another accomplishment of Glen’s younger years was him becoming a Director of Dining at the age of 25. Well Tianna became the Director of After School Program at Camp Chestnut Ridge at the age of 21. She enjoys working with the kids, planning events and retreats that the camp hosts and hanging out with co-workers. She is not so keen on the hiring and firing stuff, but that comes with the territory.
Braxton and Emma – wrapped up their time in Baltimore this summer and moved to St. Louis, where he started seminary classes in August. Over the next 3 years he will be working on his Masters in Counseling. Emma is working as a software engineer with PowerSchool. They have found a good church home and are enjoying life in the city.
Brendan – is working for Focal Medical, a company that is creating safer and more effective ways to deliver chemotherapy to individuals with pancreatic cancer. Their work includes research on other medical diagnoses and his focus is on the design of instruments. Brendan recently enjoyed a visit to Spain where he got to watch Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 and also enjoyed the ability to buy a bottle of good wine for $1.63.
Sophia – went back to school in January, to become a Certified Nursing Assistant with the goal of going to PA school in a couple of years. That 8-week course took a little longer as on January 30th she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Lord was very kind in that it was caught early, she had surgery on February 24th and continues to remain cancer free. We were blessed with a great surgeon who loves the Lord and was able to incorporate our faith into his plan of care for Soph. She resumed classes in May and got her certification in June. She works part time as a CNA and will start coursework in January to prepare to apply for PA schools next winter. Apparently, they think she needs a refresher on the Biology and Anatomy and Phys classes she took 30 years ago.
Glen – continues to enjoy his work for Evey Age and he also turned 50. We had a fun celebration with family and friends and had a great weekend of fellowship. The highlight of the weekend was being able to get people who have been so influential in his life over the past 30 years in the same room. Many had never met each other before because that timeframe spanned 5 states, but many had heard of each other as stories of life experiences were shared.
That’s what is going on with us. The year can be summed up with 3 words: God is faithful. Much of what we shared above was mostly “good” stories, but the day to day realities of life don’t always seem or feel good. We say “seem or feel” because in the moment they can be frustrating, maddening or downright sorrowful. However, by God’s grace we are being given eyes to see how good He is whether we get what we want, what we don’t want or something we didn’t expect. Our hope for 2024 is that we would grow in the comfort of knowing He is good. We don’t know the details of what will happen. How is school going to go? What challenges will be faced at work? Is the cancer going to come back? Will the kids finally accept that their dad is just categorically better than them when it comes to Spades and Dominoes? The advent season is about waiting, not just Who we are waiting for but how we wait. We don’t know what the Lord has in store for 2024 and beyond. But we do know that he is good, and kind and faithful. May the anxiousness, fears and excitement we have as we wait find assurance and comfort in that knowledge.
Best wishes to you in the New Year!
