Further news and reflections:
- On Saturday evening, ten years to the day after my dad's death, our friend Greg died. He was on the elder board with my dad when I was a kid; he taught my Sunday school class one year; he was an elder at the church where Thom and I attended when we were first married; he interviewed Thom for his ministry position there, and advocated for that position to be created for him. He was a tender-hearted man, a man of great faith and conviction, and a strong leader. His wife was my mentor partner as a teenager. Then Thom led the youth group while both of Greg's kids were involved. His daughter Shawna is just about the age I was when my dad died. My heart goes out to the family, especially as they walk this similar road.
- My niece, Vianne Rose, was born in the wee hours of the morning on Easter Sunday. I haven't gotten to see her yet, but I hear that all is well. Vianne's name means "alive" which seems remarkably fitting for the events surrounding her birthday, and for the miracle that took place on the first Easter. Congratulations to the new parents, Amy & Patrick!
"You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow"
-Sufjan Stevens, Chicago
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ReplyDeletehow did I just now see all of this. beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
ReplyDeletei love you and your heart so much.
and please get a kick out of the fact that there is a 28 year old non-traditional student in Normal, Illinois sitting in the art department computer lab, because she is lazy and it's the closest one to her building, amidst a drove of tattooed cool looking art majors who already feel disdain for her for the time she plugged her headphones into the wrong jack and they let her blare her music for a good 10 minutes before someone came and told me, crying in said computer lab.
again, love you, SO MUCH.