Yesterday was our last Sunday meeting with the Seattle Church of Christ. Well, it was our last time as residents of the area and official members of this congregation. Hopefully we'll meet with them again, but next time as visitors.
I was holding it together nicely until Greg got up to do the closing announcements and started saying outrageously nice things about us, and James, who was leading singing, said he was "calling an audible" and changed the last song. He asked the congregation to "stand and face the Brumleys" while he led them in "I Love You with the Love of the Lord." That's when I lost it without hope of gaining any composure or shred of dignity--naturally, it was the moment when all eyes were on us. I'm an ugly crier.
Suddenly all these faces held memories of times shared. Every previous Sunday I was living in the moment: focused on worshipping God with people I loved and whose faith encouraged me. I was present with each person I spoke with. But not yesterday. Yesterday was flashbacks of specific times of shared laughter and tears, hope and answered prayers:
early morning trips across Lake Washington with Ellen; after school coffee with Amanda; kitchen table prayers with Joanna and Mie; words of wisdom from Ruthann; sitting in the infusion room with brave Kari over the months she was fighting cancer; teaching the 3rd and 4th grade class with Sallee and Jeff; Starbucks chats with Alcides and Leslie; dreaming and planning with Daren and Karla; watching Jake and Lauren's budding romance and then the wedding; family nights with Mike and Laura and Matthew and Maria; a hundred meals, rescued projects and help offered by Jerry and Shanti; Alison's ever brilliant, cheerful assistance with her unlimited energy and skill: watching Greg and Lisa raise their wonderful children and grow to be trusted for leadership in the church--those I left out of this list are not left out of my heart, but....
You must be getting bored. I could go on for hours! But a rush of memories arose with every face before me. I've heard that just before people die their lives flash before them. I think there are just moments in time that hold a significance that produces the same effect--friends, farewells, and flashbacks.
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