IT’S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE
The last week. There’s a song that says “ saying goodbye is the hardest thing to do”, and for me it will be. Sometimes your greatest JOY comes after your most difficult season. This was the greatest JOY God has ever given me in a “ job”. From the minute I came I knew this was different…this was a calling from God..a mission to share this one thought “ Jesus loves you. He has seen your tears and He is bringing you JOY…JOY everlasting”. And that is what I tried to share every day I was there. The lobby seemed lifeless so I began to bring items to brighten its space. It started with cleaning the cabinet and putting in different pieces. The mantle needed lights…the table needed a sunflower tablecloth…and on and on. One day I saw some birds and bunnies out on the patio so I bought the food to feed them. It became a daily ritual to fill up the cups so some of the residents could feed them. Then came Halloween , Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, and ending with a blow out St. Paddy’s Day party with all the Irish dancers to boot. In between the celebrations, we partnered with a service dogs organization so dogs were there for all kinds of events. But the real JOY was in the people…like the Coffee Clubbers as we would soon call them. One wanted to garden so I would bring something for the garden after every weekend. We shared bagels and cream cheese, cinnamon rolls, cookies, but most importantly..COFFEE. There was music, laughter, tears, and eventually Jesus. In fact, a weekly bible study sponsored by CCV, was started. And then baptism. I cried with a lot of the families as their loved one passed, hugged staff members who just couldn’t go on, prayed with a resident who wanted to end their life, sent daily hand made cards out of construction paper to residents who were lonely, and listened to anyone who just needed to be heard. Through it all , it was always Jesus , working through me , to remind them they were loved…each and every one of them. What was created was a family, being there for each other, through the good times and bad, through the changes of the facility, to new hope. Though life there will always be in a state of flux, it will always be family to me. Friday is coming, and with that, will be a changing of the guards, a new chapter in retirement with the man I love so much, with new adventures and new places to bring Jesus. But for this day, my heart is sad, so very sad to say goodbye. Thank you all for the greatest JOY of serving Jesus. May you continue to see Him everyday as He reveals His love to you.
With much love,
Terri, your receptionist