you say goodbye and I say hello

This Sunday has been a day of hellos and a day of goodbyes.

This Sunday the new 6th graders coming up to youth were welcomed.  We hung out at church...wandered around and looked around...we went into every nook and crannies of the church.  We hung out in the kitchen and cooked our own pizza and talked about middle school that starts on Friday.  It is a new beginning for these kids as they get ready to come to Middle School and experience all that is youth at CLUMC.

This Sunday I said goodbye to a friend.  Jerry Taylor was married to Floyd Taylor.  Floyd was one of the youth's biggest supporters.  I loved Floyd.  When you first met him he scared you to death but the more  you knew him, he had a smile and you would know he was just pulling your leg!  Floyd was married to Jerry and she was the softer side of Floyd.  She also was a great supporter and after Floyd died I went through my chaos and she was always here for me.  She would tell me she loved me.  She would hug me.  She would hold me and let me cry.  Thank you Jerry.  Two years later we sat early one Sunday morning and just cried together as we talked about losing the men we loved.  She told me she thought I had it tougher...she knew where Floyd was and what he was doing.  We cried again.  I cherish her and today I said goodbye as she leaves our area to move to Huntington with her son and his family.

Life changes and life goes on.  But sometimes the change is hard to take.  It was a day of hellos and a day of goodbyes.