A Beautiful Day

The memorial service this morning was beautiful, and I think my mom was honored well. It was an emotional experience, with that peculiar balance between grief and joy at the same time.

I was blown away by the beautiful flowers from friends back in Virginia as well as the arrangement from our church family there. They were spectacular, and my heart was really touched by the tangible expression of love.

It was great to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins again. I really love my mom's kin; everytime we see them I feel this hunger to draw closer and get to know them even better. Such wonderful people! After the service, family all gathered at my dad's house just to spend the afternoon chatting and catching up. They'll all be going to my cousin Keith's church in Hamilton tomorrow morning; I wish we didn't have to hit the road because it would be a special treat to worship together and hear my cousin preach.

I was able to share my thoughts without getting too choked up (though it was really hard at a couple of points). Mom's brothers both shared stories from their childhood with her, and Marve Chapman shared memories from our time in Fremont. My brother, John, shared his reflections as well, and he also sang on of my mom's favorite songs ("The King is Coming"). Margo played the piano as the congregation sang a couple of hymns ("Blessed Assurance" and "Because He Lives"), and she also accompanied a sweet friend named Angie as she sang mom's all-time favorite song ("Just a Closer Walk With Thee").

The church family hosted a great lunch for all of us following the service, and they sent all the leftovers home with my dad. He now has a refridgerator full of good home cooking to enjoy in the coming days.

I feel almost overwhelmed by all the emotions of the day, and I have this feeling that there's more to come as life quiets down and returns to "normal" this week. We're all packed now, and we'll be hitting the road for Virginia early Sunday morning. We've got two very full days of driving in front of us, and it would be nice of some of the snow back home melted away before we arrived.

My thoughts are with our church family at Hope this evening. I really, really wish I could be there with all these people that we love so much for worship in the morning, but we'll see them soon enough. Praise God for the technology of cell phones and e-mails! It's been a blessing to get so many notes and calls of encouragement and comfort this past week!