Today was John's last Sunday at McBIC. We decided to make a weekend of it, inviting family to start celebrating with us Saturdy morning. I was looking forward to this for a long time; having the family (mostly) all together is a tremendous blessing.
16th birthdays are always celebrated with a Rite of Passage, being ushered into adulthood by special adults in the teen's life. We thought this would be a good weekend for it since family from out-of-town would already be here, even though HopeAnne's birthday was in June. It was a beautiful evening with fourteen women speaking words of blessing, encouragement, and challenge over HopeAnne.
Sunday morning was filled with celebration and surprise during the service and picnic lunch afterward. I marveled often at how different this transition was compared to the one that brought us here. The service and comments were so honoring of John's service and call to move on. His legacy here will not end and our mission to the broken and hurting will also continue. We felt loved, valued, and honored.
After the fun Father's Day Prank of 2022, someone suggested that we bring back the shirts, and expand the invitation for John's last Sunday. How beautiful to look out while I was interpreting and see a sea of support in the congregation. How fun to take a photo with so many people in green!
The biggest surprise was a revival concert by The King's Strings. We handed him his guitar as we headed to the stage. In true King fashion, the kids argued through a song line-up the night before. Practice schmactice. Who needs it? We figured it out as we went. While I was not about to attempt to see if I could still play my instrument with the bow under my leg, the kids made it look like they're still having several concerts a month. Victor was pleased to join us on cajon for a song and had a special surprise song for Dad, singing harmony with his beautiful young voice. Never mind that we had to bribe him to do it. The $10 was well worth it.
I haven't always enjoyed being a pastor's wife. Churches are known to abuse pastors and to chew them up and spit them out. When we interviewed here, I told John that this church would be good for our souls. It WAS good for our souls, and it was good to serve here. It wasn't a mistake when God called us here. So many lessons were learned in that time. God is faithful. He is good. And His ways are always for our best.
Thank you to everyone who made this a special day and a weekend to remember.
