January 21, 2012: See You Later Little Buddy... part 2

Heaveno!

THANK YOU for all the wonderful comments.  Holy cow, they mean so much to us.  Again, I'm really sorry I haven't gotten this whole post out quicker; life is really compressed right now, having squeezed this trip into a week that was bursting at the seems from all the things not done last week due to Wings of Hope... which I still haven't even really written about!  Busy doesn't even come close to describing our little HQ right now.  Ang travels for work tomorrow through Tuesday, and I am scared of the late night feedings!  LOL.  Since Julian has been breast feeding, I have gotten a free pass on late night feeds, so here we go!

Alright.  Back to Wednesday.

The funeral mass.

Like I said, and the celebrant reiterated, the church was PACKED to the gills with people, some in black, many in red, and the most beautiful voice led the congregation in song throughout the mass.  Courtney asked Patrice and I to sit with her family which was truly an honor.  There were scripture verses, and a gospel reading, and a traditional sermon, but after communion, a certain Father Mark came up to the lectern to say a few words.  I was introduced to this most caring man before the mass, and I really felt his presence.  Ever been introduced to someone, and they don't really give off any energy your way, like they don't really care to be introduced?  Contrast that with the time(s) you've been introduced to someone and they immediately give their attention, energy, and listening to you... that's what it was like meeting Fr. Mark.

So, as the mass went on, I watched Fr. Mark, one of the four priests on the the altar.  He was so deep in prayer throughout, and so passionate in his faith.  It moved me.  He LOVES his faith, and he LOVES celebrating the mass... you can tell... AND he wasn't even the lead celebrant.  It just exuded from him in an honest, authentic way.

It was passion.

It was beautiful.

It was inspiring.

That's all before he even spoke.

Then, he spoke.

While the lead celebrant had a very reserved, measured tone and pace to his speaking, Fr. Mark LET IT RIP.

"MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS..." he began at a pace and volume twice as fast and loud.

He began to tell us about Moses, St. Paul, Mother Theresa, and others who were true disciples and the numbers of people they touched.  Then he spoke of Tripp in the same way.  As a true disciple of Christ who just the other day had 175,000 HITS on Courtney's blog.  NO joke.  When was the last time you hear a priest or minister quote hits on a blog from the pulpit?  It was awesome!  He made the very convincing case that Tripp has touched more people and brought more people into God's witness than any of the predecessors he mentioned... Tripp was in some impressive company!

The way he spoke made me proud of my Catholic heritage.  I grew up a devout Catholic, Jesuit educated, and while now I am a member of the progressive Christian Church - Disciples of Christ denomination, witnessing that passion for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ made me feel good.

Folks, this IS the transformative context to this entire journey.  The role God and his son Jesus have played in Ang's and my life, Courtney's life, Patrice's life... THAT is where we draw our strength from...

... and even still, we are often weak.  Often anxious.  Trying to do it our way, not His way.

But that's okay, too.

After Fr. Mark sat down, Courtney rose and headed to the pulpit.

The anticipation was palpable.  The tears began before she even made it onto the altar.  The tissues made noise throughout the congregation.

With a soft, often breaking voice, she spoke.  She shared from her heart, like she always does, and was as vulnerable and transparent as she always is.  She spoke to the audience, she spoke to Tripp, she cried her way through it, but stood strong (after standing strong for 2.5 hours receiving guests) through it all.  To say there wasn't a dry eye in the church is an understatement.  I was sitting in the center of the church, and I could physically feel the energy people were pouring out to her from all points in the church, to hold her up, to somehow soften the pain, to somehow give back what she had given them for so long through her blog and the tremendous example of unconditional love she was these past two years and 8 months.  It was beautiful.  It was sad.  It was heart wrenching.  It was divine.  I imagined God looking down with such a smile at his people, gathered so close together, worshiping so intensely side by side, loving like they had rarely loved before... and this was just what was happening in the church.



Then, when the mass ended, and we headed to the cemetery, the ripples of that love were seen by the roadside as people lined up to pay their respects, Elmos, signs, and flowers in hand.  It was just about the most beautiful thing I have ever seen... the whole day from start to finish.  



Bella taught me about my Providence goggles so long ago.  Do you remember those?  When she was first born, I started seeing God in every situation we were facing.  He was right there with us.  I started blogging about it, calling it the Providence Story of the Day.   Three months later, an entire book had been written.  It was with these same goggles that I viewed this entire day from the moment I waited in line at the valet at my hotel to the moment my friend Maria stayed on the phone with me till 1:30 am our time while I drove the hour and 15 minute drive home from the airport.  God was there through it all.

Through It All by Andrae Crouch 

I've Had Many Tears And Sorrows,
I've Had Questions For Tomorrow,
There's Been Times I Didn't Know Right From Wrong.
But In Every Situation,
God Gave Me Blessed Consolation,
That My Trials Come To Only Make Me Strong.

Through It All,
Through It All,
I've Learned To Trust In Jesus,
I've Learned To Trust In God.

Through It All,
Through It All,
I've Learned To Depend Upon His Word.

I've Been To Lots Of Places,
I've Seen A Lot Of Faces,
There's Been Times I Felt So All Alone.
But In My Lonely Hours,
Yes, Those Precious Lonely Hours,
Jesus Lets Me Know That I Was His Own

Through It All,
Through It All,
I've Learned To Trust In Jesus,
I've Learned To Trust In God.

Through It All,
Through It All,
I've Learned To Depend Upon His Word.

I Thank God For The Mountains,
And I Thank Him For The Valleys,
I Thank Him For The Storms He Brought Me Through.
For If I'd Never Had A Problem,
I Wouldn't Know That HE Could Solve Them,
I'd Never Know What Faith In God Could Do

Through It All,
Through It All,
I've Learned To Trust In Jesus,
I've Learned To Trust In God.

Through It All,
Through It All,
I've Learned To Depend Upon His Word.
I've Learned To Depend Upon His Word.

After the interment ceremony, we headed to the Knights of Columbus Hall for some good southern eatin'!  I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning... just didn't feel like eating, so I had worked up quite an appetite by the time we good to the KofC (NOT KFC, mind you...) at about 3:30 that afternoon.  Well, as I stood in front of the jambalaya, Lawton, Courtney's dad asked me, "You know what that is, Tim?"  I did, but the kicker was the white beans with meat in the tub next to it... "You gotta drizzle them white beans over that jamabalya..." sounded good to me!  So much so that I went in for seconds!  Patrice and I sat with Courtney and her absolute God-send of a boyfriend, Steven and we all broke bread... and King Cake (oh MAN was THAT good) together.  I could tell Courtney was exhausted by this point, but she was gracious throughout.  

As the crowd began to thin, it was time for me to make my trek back... 

across the lakes...  

to the airport...

and back to two sleeping kids that needed to be up in the morning for school and daycare... back to it... this unending journey of faith.

God night.