Family & Friends

Yesterday we were planning on doing a picnic at the beach for Mother's Day. It had been a wonderfully sunny and warm week, but when we got out of church it was still cloudy and cool. We stopped at a park before getting to the beach to eat because we were all very hungry and knew we'd have a better chance of finding a picnic table than we would at the beach (since there aren't any there). It was a nice park--we'll be back to explore it more sometime. It's right next to the beach, but it's very forested. Well, we didn't last through eating before we got too cold and skipped going elsewhere (we figured if we were cold from the breeze in the wooded park, it's going to be worse at the beach). A couple from church invited us over for supper that night--we had some great Greek food and a good time getting to know them better.
Today went down to Bellingham to run some errands, but mostly to get together with the Wells family. Dave was my pastor going through confirmation and high school and we enjoyed their family while they were in Iowa. Pastor Dave probably indirectly influenced me for going into ministry just through his presence and how he ministered to us. I hadn't seen them in years (except for seeing Pastor Dave at a Midwinter Conference while I was in seminary) and the family hadn't met Beth and the boys before. We met up for lunch and then found our way down to the harbor (Michelle was in school, but Laurel had just gotten home from college). It was great to catch up and hang out together; the boys warmed up to them very quickly (Anders was sitting on Sue's lap right away, showing her his new book). That's part of the beauty of being a part of true fellowship: you can get together with people after years and it feels like no time has passed. Being united in the Spirit can do that.

And thank you, Dave and Sue, for your quiet, prayerful influence in my life. You encouraged me through those formative years in many ways. (That's a reminder to all of us--myself included--to keep plugging away at mentoring and discipling the next generation.)