With Tears I Say….

Here I sit, on the last night in our Wake Village house, listening to all the familiar noises.  Sawyer’s mumbling in his sleep.  The train in the distance.  That certain sound that the toilet in the kids’ bathroom makes.  Laughing teenagers passing through our yard on their way home.

I know this place.

This house, where Sawyer learned to walk and talk.  Where he struggled through the night after I took his paci away.  Where Adelade learned she was going to be a big sister again.  Where we cried together over first grade math.  Where she changed from a bouncy preschooler  into a poised young lady.  Where Emerald got her first taste of home.  Where she and I sat up together for days when she had RSV.  Where she first said “Mama,” and where Adelade first said, “Mom.”  Where Sawyer declared that “The Yankees are bad.”

This is where Chad and I remembered that life is fun.  Here we cried over lost babies.  We recorded songs in the garage.  We stayed up too late.  We debated about the best ways to do church, and we marveled that we have been called to debate about the best ways to do church.

Life here has been grand.  So much of Wake Village will go with me when we pull away tomorrow to head west.   Their sacrificial giving without fanfare.  Their offers to help in ways that bring no glory to themselves.  Their humility.  Their grace and mercy.  And most of all, their love.  The love that lives here, in this special place way out in east Texas, it is real.  It is selfless.  And it’s like being wrapped up in your grandmother’s quilt on a chilly winter night.

Here is the only fact on this stroll down memory lane that matters:  God has been in it all.  This kind of love doesn’t come from people, even good people.  No, it’s God.  He has done this.

So, tonight, I praise Him.  Even though I’m sad tonight, I can see that He has done this great thing in our lives at Wake Village.  And, yes, I can see that He is doing a great thing in our lives as we leave this place we love and head for Olney.   God is goodness.  He is love.  And He does what is good.  So, we can always trust His plan. And, I trust Him.  Even more, I’m excited about what He’s doing.

All day I’ve been thinking about the old song that says, “If we never meet again this side of Heaven, I’ll meet you on that beautiful shore.”  It seems fitting as we leave our loved ones here.  So, to our Wake Village family, I say thank you.  Thank you for all you have taught us, for allowing us to grow, and for loving us.  If we never get to see your sweet faces again on this Earth, I’ll look forward to a big Wake Village reunion around the throne of our King.  We love you all so much.  I really can’t say it enough.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Until we meet again.