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On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I want to write something bright, cheerful and most of all thankful. It is my favorite holiday. I am not sure how that came to be the case. Maybe it was all the food. Maybe it was the story of Indians and Pilgrims. The cool crisp days of November certainly add to my enjoyment of the holiday.
Each day is full of people, places and moments for which we can be thankful. Anticipating the arrival of Thanksgiving Day is a good time to recall some of those people, places, and moments. Remembering good people, happy places and joyous moments is a pleasant exercise. How gloriously wonderful life would be if we only encountered good people, went to happy places, and experienced joyous moments. We know that is simply not the way life is. Moments of despair, sad places and scenes of good people leaving this world behind are sprinkled through the landscape of our memories.
Thanksgiving is approaching and I want to be bright, cheerful and thankful. Yet with scenes of two of our really good people leaving this world behind still vividly fresh in my mind, bright and cheerful is not what I am feeling. However, my sense of gratitude is deeper. My life is richer for having spent a few years with Gorda Gordon and James Hamby. She, a strong woman with a deep love for good and a passion for life; and he, a devout man whose commitment to his Lord and his family was steady, reliable and tender.
The grief we feel at the parting of these two saints is still close at hand. Maybe it is too soon to have a holiday. I am not sure. Yet, I am certain that it is not too soon to have a thanks-giving — thanks-giving for the lives of those we love who are no longer with us in this world.
As I watched you minister to and love these two grieving families, I could realize that you are a people for which I am deeply grateful. With death near at hand, you did not find somewhere else to be. You were there with those who are hurting and hoping, waiting and watching. I watched you gather in hospital hallways and emergency rooms to support those who were facing death. You did not mean to be heroic or to make a theological statement, but you did. You were the people of God, the Body of Christ, the presence of Christ to those who were shedding tears of grief and saying good-bye to those they love.
You were there in a hard place at a sad moment watching good people go on to the next life. And you were there because that is who you are — the kind of Christ followers that you are. Some churches rely on creeds or doctrinal statements to tell others what they believe. Not you, not so much. You simply and quietly do what you believe to be right. In so doing, you give witness to the truth and the power of the resurrection of our Lord.
Joy and peace,
Ed
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