Saying goodbye at CCC

Saying goodbye at Celebration Community Church to our Florida "family" was difficult & sweet at the same time. Here we are on the last Sunday we shared in worship as a family...

God brought us to Florida in 2008 to help with a church plant called Celebration Community Church. Six years later we can look back & marvel at all He has done through this little plant that has grown to a healthy & vibrant church. We celebrate what He has done in our own lives & the lives of others. We are thankful for Chris, the one who trusted the Lord's leading & decided to call & ask if we would move to a place far away from home. 

That last Sunday we were able to attend as a family Chris took the opportunity to pray for us during both services. Paul, a friend & fellow elder with Rob took some video for us during the second service. Our plan was to have footage from his camera & mine to clip together but mine ran out of space....grrr! So, we are left with raw, slightly bumpy at times but in my opinion, perfect capturing of those moments.  Eloise was being a little "challenging" if you will so she remained seated with my mom. O & A thought that blowing raspberries would make for good sound effects during the prayer which made me smile. Chris's kind words in sharing the story of the Valentine's in Florida helped us remember all that Lord has done & rest in knowing He will continue to work in us & though us wherever we are. 

If you are interested in watching.....

We did hug & say goodbye to some but knew that Rob & I would have one more Sunday to say our last farewell so I stayed tear free.  That evening, Amanda & Chris hosted a couples dinner in our honor. Amanda has the gift of making people feel so very special & we once again were blessed with her care for us.

She surprised us with the words to the hymn that were included in the post where we announced we were Texas bound.  Again, I love these words & find them just right to consider when feeling sad about friends we have said goodbye to along the way, or heading back to Dallas.

Dinner was served in the backyard with lights strung overhead. It was delightful!  We enjoyed some tasty burgers, potato salad, assorted chips & a green salad followed by more than one delicious pie! We were definitely full : )

I didn't take too many pictures but managed to get one of me with Annie & baby Lilah....such a pretty little girl!

Creative party planner Amanda passed out a Valentine Family Trivia game for discussion during dinner. After all had full tummies she asked the questions out loud, guests offered their answers & we shared the official ones.  She had sent the questions to us ahead of time which allowed for some reflection & laughter as we wrote down our answers.

The reward was a bag of Dr. Pepper flavored Jelly Bellys. They ended up being left & long story short provided my Dad with all the nourishment he needed while en route from Orlando to Dallas!

I will love this picture forever....

Each of these couples have played such a special role in our life will be dearly missed. One or both of us have been in some sort of small group with each individual over the course of our time there. These people have challenged us, cried with us, celebrated with us, prayed for us, served us, laughed with us, been patient with us & have joined their lives with ours as brothers & sisters in Christ during our six years in Orlando.

During the evening various people shared memories of meeting us or doing life together leaving us feeling humbled & thankful for God's provision in blessing us with more than we could have asked for in the way of friends to live life with.  Amanda also surprised us with a beautiful book full of letter from not only our friends that currently live in Orlando but also the friends who have come & gone during our time there. There is a beautiful black & white picture of each family along with their letter. Cathy & Don each wrote us a letter that they read to us in front of everyone. They were so honest & beautifully written. I have to share Cathy's because of the way it spoke to my heart. She is an incredible writer & her children are blessed to have her teaching them at home.

Lauren, 

I will always feel so blessed that our lives have overlapped at the most life-changing of all seasons. 

You and Robby, still kids really, rolled into Orlando to follow a dream. Or more of a call. And you unrolled your window and called out, " I love it here!" to the sun and the palms and the God who brought you.

At times you have loved being here, I know...and at times it has been really hard. 

Wasn't it yesterday that you sat on my little couch  and told me of the month-after-month, year-after-year dream unmet? We shared stories of waiting on the Lord's timing and of trusting even in dry times.

And the the expectation turned into expecting. Three times! And four tiny lives joined yours. It's like the floodgates of heaven burst open and a tidal wave of babies spilled out!

Wasn't it yesterday that you stood in my kitchen with your lovely homemade baby sling on your shoulder, a pudgy too-big baby Alex as a demo-baby to test your sewing? Tummy round & Charlotte growing big...your smile even bigger...

You said you loved it here to the warm air, years ago, and the warmth of God's blessing is the air you have breathed. 

It's not been easy, and waiting can be infertility and it can also be long, hard, scary pregnancies, or exhausting trips to the NICU day after day, or waiting for some one of the four to be old enough to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, by themselves!

Wasn't it yesterday you called me desperate, asking about Tylenol for a screaming little one  - who remembers which one? The Lord has brought you through that and a thousand minor crises.

But crises or not, like the character of you both, you have followed the Lord's call into Orlando, into parenthood, into trials & into what he has next. 

It is clear to those who love you that this next step to Texas is right and from the Lord. In Christ we are never going "back," are we. At times you are likely to feel lonely in the Lone Star State. But you are going forward, in faith- and as you obey you will feel  his presence and experience his joy wherever you are. 

All those days we have spent together- that seem like just yesterday- have turned into years.  I have loved every day of knowing you and your precious family Lauren.  Your family has intersected with ours in a way that makes my children see yours as cousins. Which makes us sisters- and that is exactly how I feel about you. 

Lauren, as you drive out of town and leave our sunny state for the last time, I trust you can call out of the window to the sun and the palms and the God who brought you, "I have loved it here!" Not because it has been easy, but because it has been a gift. You certainly have been a gift to me.

I love you, dear sister, 
Cathy 

Tear jerker today again as I read it for the tenth (plus) time! I love how she ties in the calling out of the window upon arriving in sunny Florida & recommendations on my departure. (Just for the record, I did unroll my window & called out "I have loved it here!") I have read & re- read many of those letters in our special book, will continue to do so & will eventually read them to our children to help them grasp what it is that God did with our family in Orlando through intersecting our lives with so many.

Once everyone shared with us, we were able to share something we prepared for each of the couples there. Robby & I played a little game where we would write down the first word that came to mind when we said the name of a couple. Sometimes we used that word, sometimes we picked another as we talked about what we loved about the two up for discussion. It was a wonderful exercise for us as we reflected on how God had used each of these couples to reveal more about himself to us & help us become more like Christ.

Our evening could not have been more special.  I will not soon forget the feeling I had as I looked around at the faces of these precious people & felt a deep ache in my heart as I further processed us actually leaving. As Chris closed us in prayer he said that most likely the next time that that exact group of people would be together again would be for an eternity in heaven. Wow, what a thing to think about!  It again reminded me of the words Amanda wrote on the chalkboard leaned against the fence that night, the words that had been playing over & over in my head as I said farewell to dear friends & family.

Our last Sunday in Florida, Robby, my Dad & I made it to CCC just as the first service was ending & stayed till almost everyone left.  There were LOTS of hugs exchanged, many that lasted for a long time....so that feeling would last for even longer : )

We had a lovely farewell with this family that has been a gift to ours.  Rob & Freddi with (left to right) Lexi, Sammi, Trinity, Gabbi & RJ. LOVE this family, their commitment to God & others, their twins that may one day wed ours in a double ceremony ; ) their laughter & the life we have shared with them.

I got to hug my precious friend Amanda one last time....that hurt a little bit : (

We hugged Gregg, thanked him for his faithful teaching of the word & commitment to the people of CCC.

One last picture in a place God provided for CCC, a place where we worshiped, were challenged, we celebrated with others, we taught, we watched bellies grow & children be dedicated to the Lord, we witnessed people coming to faith in Christ & be baptized & experienced the love of a faithful God in more ways than we could list.

We held hands & walked out the front the door one last time. Robby looked at me & asked if I was okay. I smiled with tears in my eyes & heard the verse replaying in my head once again....

We meet to part but part to meet 

when earthly labors are complete,

to join in yet more blessed employ

in an eternal world of joy