The Good bye's have started

Chantelle, the girls and I had dinner at the Goetzes on Friday night.  It brought back a lot of memories. When I was a young (as opposed to now middle aged) pastor at North Park, I would have dinner at Richard and Peggy's house once a week. Somehow I had managed in those years to have a standing dinner invitation at a different family's home on a different night of the week. Yes it meant I didn't have to cook much and yes I only had condiments in my refrigerator!

Twenty years ago Richard and Peggy's daughters were adolescents.  We would sit around the table and laugh, talk about life and ministry at the church.  At the time, Richard was the senior pastor until he retired and I grew into that role. During Friday night's dinner 2 decades of memories came sweeping past.  Most importantly, I got to share with him just how meaningful his ministry to me in those early years were.  I started ministry at North Park not the most confident and greatly unsure of myself. Richard was a quiet encourager. He saw things in me that I never saw and consistently and gently encouraged me to walk outside my comfort zone. I'm forever grateful.  I owe more to him than he or anyone will ever know.

While I am sure I will see him over the next few weeks, I won't have time for that same intimate conversation. And so it begins....the many opportunities not to say goodbye...but to say thank you. It makes me long for a new word to describe one's gratitude for people during a time when they are transitioning away. It is more than thank you. It is greater than goodbye. It is well of deep gratitude.  I see Paul the Apostle struggling with that in scripture as he made his many transitions. How do you say what people mean to you and how do you possible express that gratitude.  

There are many more of those conversations to come. I'm blessed beyond measure to have so many great people in my life.