April 28 – “Nuh uh, Daddy”

Yesterday was one of those odd, in-between kind of days for us.  We were supposed to go to Waco for Luke’s baby dedication.  I had already made arrangements for the director of the Galveston Baptist Association to fill in for me at Seaside.  And we almost convinced ourselves to get up early and make the trip anyway.  That would have been a really dumb move, though.  One thing we realized was that we were both pretty much exhausted.  A trip anywhere would have been downright dangerous for us to attempt.  Like the time we came to Galveston from Denver and drove straight through for about twenty hours.  About an hour at a time was all we could muster before we had to change drivers.  And an hour catnap at a time was just not enough to recharge the internal batteries.  Not to mention it took at least a day and a half after we arrived before we could even function.  We didn’t want a repeat of that fiasco.  So instead Josh FaceTimed us on his phone.  A good friend of ours from Arlington, Cary, held the phone the whole time so we could see what was going on.  I tried to do a little cutting up, but I guess they couldn’t hear me.  And I don’t think they heard when Chris teared up at the end, either.  It was a pretty special moment.  Sure wish we could have been there in person, but thank you, God, for the miracles of modern technology.

While we were waiting for the call we did some cleaning in Mom’s room.  We needed another place for people to stay during the funeral festivities.  That was an interesting experience.  We found all kinds of strangely designated keepsakes.  A church bulletin from Arlington, invitations to birthday parties, every prayer list ever printed for our home Bible study group, any card she ever received from anybody – from her 80^th birthday to Wednesday Club and Oleander Society functions, the tags from every piece of clothing she ever bought or received as a gift.  My two personal favorites, though, were: an old unopened Discover Card bill addressed to us (Sorry about that, Discover.  I’m sure that was one of those times I had to call and question why we had a penalty charged when we never received the bill), and a hodgepodge of random paper glued upon paper.  Chris recognized that one immediately.  It was one of the “projects” that Mom and Cailyn had worked diligently on one time.  I made sure that one was placed in a bit more of a prominent place for the time being. 

Speaking of Cailyn, she and her parents came over for lunch.  A sweet lady from Seaside stopped by with a bucket of fried chicken, so we had some fresh KFC to share when they arrived.  It was good to just enjoy some hugs from Cailyn.  She and I went back into Mom’s room one time and guess what she noticed right away?  Yep.  She declared matter-of-factly, “That’s the picture I made for MeeMaw.”  I told her, “It sure is.  MeeMaw was very proud of that picture.”  And she beamed with a five-year-old’s pride.  Earlier Nathan told me of a discussion he had had with Cailyn.  Seems she asked: “Who is the oldest in our family Daddy?  I know who it is.  It’s Uncle Jerry.”

He replied, “Well, no.  ‘Cause remember Uncle Jerry is with Jesus now, so he’s not here anymore.”
Wrong answer, Nathan.  But he was quickly corrected: “Nuh uh, Daddy.  He’s still here.  So is MeeMaw.”
I’m sure Nathan’s mind was reeling with how he would come up with an answer to that one.  But before he could formulate a response, she tapped herself on the chest and continued: “You told me she would always be right here.  So will you and Mommy and Nani and DadDad.” 
OK.  Done crying yet?  Best theology I’ve heard all week. 

Psalms 25:6 says, “Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.”

Father, thank you for once again invading the grief process with the simple faith and words of a child.  Amen.