Yesterday was my last chance to serve as the Children's Ministry Director at Chambersburg Brethren in Christ church. Our theme for the day was "Faithfulness" and I helped lead the service for the last time. In our kids department, they surprised me with a Thank You party full of cards, and gifts, and hugs, and tissues, and tears, and love. The kids gathered around me for "one last time" a phrase I am beginning to dread as I hear it come from the mouths of family and friends that have been my world for the last 25 years. The afternoon was spent with my dear friends, the staff members of CBIC, at a picnic/pool party where we just chatted and laughed and played and made some more lasting memories.
The thing about these "last chances" is that you don't get to do a "do over." You can't relive it or make it happen again. Which makes me even more humbled and grateful for the outpouring of love that wrapped around us yesterday and made this "last chance" more memorable and hopeful that I could have ever asked or imagined.
Tomorrow, we get our "first glance." Luke and I have visited Kentucky briefly back in the beginning of April as we were praying through God's will for us regarding accepting the scholarship and moving. Tomorrow will be the family's first chance to see our new home together. Our hearts are nervously anticipating what this will look like. A family that the girls have been penpalling with have offered to let us stay with them while we are down there. A group of ladies from Kalas Village, our new neighborhood, have offered to throw us a cookout tomorrow night. A new neighbor has offered to let us see inside their house so we can get a better idea of what we can bring with us when we move. A couple of pen pal moms have invited us to spend July 4 with them, enjoying all the holiday activities a small town like Wilmore affords. First glances at what life will be like once we officially move on July 29.
The thing about these "first glances" is that it's all new and first impressions are long lasting. You can't relive it or make it happen again. Which makes me even more humbled and grateful for the hospitality that is being offered to our family even before we pull in with our moving truck. These acts of welcome make our first glance more special and blessed than I could have imagined.
So, with mixed emotions and many tears, both happy and sad, the Embree family embarks on our very own "Last Chance, First Glance" week. I am resting on the overwhelming sense of peace that fills my heart each time we say, "Yes, God, I will follow you." As my dear friend Raven shared in her testimony yesterday, you can't really explain that peace but it is real and it sets you free. CBIC, thank you for allowing me to serve these past few years. Kentucky, here we come!
No comments:
Post a Comment