I remember like it was yesterday
Unpacking boxes,
Finding Larry Murphy’s shoes
tucked away in the closet.
I remember all the notes;
The ‘nice-to-meet-ya’s.’
And the food you brought—
DiCarlo’s Pizza.
I remember the tears, the doubts,
The internal maybes.
I remember the test results…
Our second baby.
I remember the shower you threw,
I remember the notes Harald drew.
I remember the verse and the tune:
“Bethany” rang from the ceiling and pews.
We ate baptismal cake in the Family Room.
I’ll always remember our Christmas Eves,
The Festival of Lights at Oglebay.
All the weddings with you—the RSVPs,
Symphony on Ice, the Viennese.
But even greater than that
are the real treasures hewn,
from a hospital bed
or a living room.
Or a Freeze Shelter bunk,
folding some linens,
Or flood relief trips
Either here or Clendenin.
Or Thursday backpack bags,
Shouting out numbers;
Bagging rice and dried veggies
At Rise Against Hunger.
Or the costumes and robes,
The cloaks and the dresses,
The songs and the games,
Out-the-Pike VBSs.
Almost a decade has flown,
But the memories remain.
I thank our Good God
For the life we have made.
We take the memories
And pack them up.
We store them in places
they will not rust.
We’ll break them out…
…because the going is tough.
But remembering you
Is re-membering us.
Remember: faith is forged by the journey,
Trusting our Sovereign above,
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts…
…In Christian Love,
Pastor Jake and the Steele Family