Goodbyes at Church, Our sacred trust

Through the morning and after the evening service we said our “goodbyes” to the friends we have been given in the Somerset Bible Baptist Church. Just as when we left Texas over eight years ago, we know that there are those among the family there that we will never see again this side of Glory. It is a sadness made tolerable by the promise of eternity together.
The saddest part for Mama Kim and I was leaving the little ones in our Sunday morning Beginner’s Church. For the sendoff we had thirty two, two, three, four and five-year-olds in the room with us. We had printed pictures with each of the children in our class last week and presented those to the one’s present the final morning. For those we missed seeing that day, we entrusted their pictures to Mrs. Fisher to distribute this coming Sunday. She knows it is a sacred trust.
There are some of the little ones for whom we would have loved to pass our accumulated insights from our working with them to our successor, but we did not finalize who that person may be. God knows and He will give them the understanding He gave us as we taught and played with them. It has been our biggest concern as we were leaving.
As far as the move is concerned, we signed all the final documents with the movers only moments before church began. I really hated missing my final time to practice with the choir, but time did not permit. At least we were not late for the service.
At the cake and coffee event following the service there were some sad goodbyes, lots of hugs and remembrances. It is humbling to see how God has allowed us to bless those around us as well as to be blessed by them. God really is good! And we do not take for granted that those friendships are forever. That is part of the “welcome” nature of Heaven. Our Lord will be there and so will our friends and loved ones.
After all that was over and we had cleaned up sufficiently, Pastor Fisher came to the apartment to get the couch we had given them. Getting it out of the apartment was not too big a chore. Getting it into the house proved more difficult. We had to take down the gate on the driveway, take off the door closer on the screen door and prop it open, remove the back door and the door to the basement stairs.
It was not too much trouble to accomplish except for the one screw (That’s how it usually happens.) that would not come out of the base for the door closer on the screen door. We had to break it which thrilled Ethan to death. When the screwdriver came out he was excited and ran to get his own so he could help. When the hammer came out he was ecstatic. “Daddy break it!” Papa Tim break it!” Each thing that came apart only excited him more.
“Mommy look! Daddy break it!” “Yes Ehtan, but Daddy and Papa Tim will put it back together.” “Come my room break it!” “No Ethan we don’t need to take your door off.” It took all his Mommy could do to get him out of the way as we prepared to take the couch down the stairs. As soon as we were down in the basement, so was he. Putting things back together was a little anticlimactic for him, but he watched the entire process.
I worry how soon he will apply the knowledge he gained that night.