Many of you sent a word of condolence and support to Celia following the loss of her mom, Carolyn, on January 22. Our devotional thoughts this month are thoughts of thankfulness for the support of The Community in our lives. Celia’s mom’s passing was unexpected, Celia will tell the story someday in the newsletter. The outpouring of support has been more helpful than you’ll know–thank you.
I will tell some of my story here. On Tuesday evening January 21, (not knowing it was Carolyn’s last night–we thought things were on track) as we were leaving hospital room, I asked her if she wanted me to leave the window blinds up so she could watch the sunset–it was a beautiful sunset. She said yes, and I’ll forever remember walking away from her with the picture of her taking it in. I hope I take the time to marvel at the sunset on all my days on the planet–including my last. The folks in Key West do that sunset thing right.
Celia did end up canceling a weekend date, but we’re so thankful for the flexibility in our lives (and the understanding of the folks at Lake Junaluska) to do what we felt we needed to do. We were able to spend some extended time with Celia’s family. Her dad, Bill, even came home with us to TN for a few weeks and joined us at the Extravaganza in Atlanta with 600ish Lutheran Youthworkers from across the nation. He said it was good to be with young folks (they were all adults who love kids). I’ll add that it’s good to be with The Church. Bill will go with us to Lake Junaluska next weekend. We’ve had a rich time together and Max and Zach love having Pawpaw around.
People have asked Celia why and how she sings at times like this. I guess you do what comes naturally–and for Celia there’s nothing more natural than singing. So the song goes on.