Sheesh. That's all I know to say. It started off innocently enough, until we went to church. Wait, that sounds wrong. Being a Methodist, we have the blessing and curse of itinerant ministers. Let me explain that before you think me more of weirdo than usual. While some churches get one minister who stays until they are ready to retire or make a change, our church moves their pastors around every handful of years. While this can in some cases be a good thing if the fit of congregation and minister is not a beneficial one, it often feels like a curse. Our beloved senior pastor of ten years, Jim W., preached his last sermon as our minister today before he retires and rides through the countryside with his lovely bride. As a child, I enjoyed many of our ministers but never understood why my parents cried when ours left....always in June around my birthday. As an adult who has a husband and children...who has lived a life and experienced the greatest highs and the lowest lows, I now know the meaning of the tears I saw my parents shed. Pastor Jim has come to the hospital and baptized two of our children. He comforted us during the heartbreak of miscarriage and the death of grandparents. He has jumped up and down in the middle of a sea of preschoolers with my son and taken a full body blow from G trying to wrestle him. He visited me in the hospital after I stupidly wore sandals to pick berries and got a spider bite and staph and strep, a four day stay and "Popeye Leg", as my brother called it. He has answered tough theological questions from the children that we have, sometimes lazily, suggested he could answer better. In a nutshell, he's been a busy man over the last 10 years. And that is just with our craziness.
When he ended his sermon, I don't think there was a dry eye in the sanctuary. Whether it be merely teary or the major ugly cry, we were all moved. Thank you, Jim, for your service and devotion for so many years. God spoke to us through you so many times and we are so grateful. Enjoy your time with Judy and the family. We will miss you but look forward to stalking your home for Cheetos at Halloween. Keep safe and pedal away.
Oh yeah. These are my last couple of hours in my 30's and I've shed a few tears about that as well. More on that later.
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