Remembering

JG comes into the library a lot. I helped him figure out google, I frequently check his email for him, and I even taught him how to use a cell phone. One time he was having trouble with it so we called the 1-800 number together and spoke with a kind gentleman from India. I love JG and his dear wife Theresa, who works in the attendance office. They are the salt of the earth. I love their story. In his younger years, JG  had an opportunity to work with NBC during the Olympics in Europe. He worked with them that summer, filming, traveling, and living the highlife. At the end of the summer, they offered him a full time job to travel the world with camera crews. What an exciting opportunity. He turned it down without a second thought because he had "a girl back home who missed him." He married Theresa a year later. He spent his life as a track coach and high school teacher. They now have six children and three grandchildren. They couldn't be happier or more in love.

JG came into the library this morning not his usual self. Tears were filling his eyes and softly tumbling down his old cheeks. He told me that one of our freshman boy's mothers passed away from cancer today.

He remembered her. He remembered teaching her older son years ago, meeting her and enjoying her sweet and gentle spirit. He remembered her lovely red hair, so brilliant in the sun. He remembered her coming to every track meet, cheering her boys on. He remembered watching her decline, the effects of cancer increasingly evident. He remembered her coming to school just last week to bring a forgotten lunch to her son. She didn't get out of the car. She saw JG in the parking lot, called him over, and asked him to take the lunch to her boy. He said she looked weak and tired. A friend was driving the car. And now she is gone.

I sat quietly while JG wept and remembered, my heart breaking with him.

Slowly his sadness turned to reflection. He started telling me about his mother, how much she meant to him. He told me about his wife, what a wonderful mother she has been to their children. How they love her, she is their rock. How beautiful it has been to spend a lifetime watching her love and bless their family. He told me about his daughters who are now mothers. How they are so much like Theresa. His sadness turned into thankfulness, gladness. His remembering turned into a remembering of beauty. There is joy in the mourning.

I hope that as years go by and time goes on, I can learn to remember the beauty like this.

Jeremiah 31:13
I will turn their mourning into gladness.
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Isaiah 61:1-3
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.