Last night we gathered to celebrate Gibson.
We carried in plates of crackers and cheese, bottles of lemonade, pans and bowls full of food, and then we all took deep breaths and let the friendship and love flow.
We talked about kids’ school, music, old memories, and funny stories.
In our hearts were the beautiful words Beth wrote about healing and loving after Gibson’s birth last year. In our minds were all the days we have prayed and hoped together for God’s will and mercy to flow to their family.
After dinner our friend Nathan played guitar and Jesus was given glory and thanks for His love that never lets us go. A gaggle of children were playing out in the yard, a few of the older ones came and joined us, singing along and soaking in the reverence of hymns sung in backyards, by a people who want God most of all.
All I could think is that this is how life should be; this is what friendship and family looks like; and this is how I want to raise my children- surrounded by people who love one another.
Our plan was to release lanterns under the swollen moon and so we headed out to find a place that we could light them and see them fly.
We hiked through the YMCA property and ended up on a ridge overlooking a lake, and after the first lantern was lit, the fire became a little concerning.
The wind blew the flame too much, and several people asked if anyone had any water. All of us really wanted the lanterns to work, and we all watched and waited, hopeful that the fire would die down a little so that we could let it rise heavenward.
Eventually, someone stomped the lantern out to avoid crisis, and we all laughed and cheered. We hugged and said goodnight, and the night ended perfectly.
I thought about those lanterns all the way home. And I thought how we were so in love with the idea of them, but it didn’t go exactly as we planned. In the end, the best part of the night was coming together and remembering Jesus at the center of our lives.
That’s how God takes ashes and makes something beautiful from them. True friendship rises up from lives lived together, through the thick and the the thin places of life.
All this because God gave Daniel and Beth a beautiful baby named Gibson.
And now so many of us are different, we are becoming more than we could have been without the blessing of that baby boy:
We are friends, we are grateful, and we know we are loved.