Back in Baldwin

So it has been awhile since my last post.  I apologize for that, but I haven't really felt like posting anything until now.  The last week has been draining for me and for my family.  There has been a lot to process over the last week.  As you know from my last post, my Uncle Kenny passed away on June 22nd.  This resulted in having an unplanned flight home for a week.  I had not planned on being home for another two months.  Obviously, things didn't work out that way. 

There are a lot of things to talk about, but I'll only be focusing on a couple of them.  I should probably start off by telling you about my unexpected week at home.  To be quite honest, I didn't want to be home, not for this reason.  Now don't get me wrong, the vast majority of my trips home are enjoyable.  It is always good to see family and worship at the little church that gave me a foundation for faith in Christ.  This was different though.  My return home was not a happy occasion.  Instead I had come to be with my family as we buried my Uncle. 

I got home on Friday night.  The arrangements had already been made, so I didn't have to participate in that at all.  On Sunday, I went to church.  It was good to be back among them and to have familiarity in a time of mourning.  This is the congregation that had nurtured me since I was a young child.  It was where I was baptized, where I went to Sunday School, where I had Youth Group, where I first learned of grace.  So it was a comfort to worship with them on a Sunday morning.  They are like family to me.  That afternoon, my family, along with some of Uncle Kenny's friends, sat with Pastor Phil and told stories about him.  That evening, my dad went to play cards and my mom, sister, and I went to get ice cream.  That was when it hit me.  I realized that my uncle was gone.  So as I was eating my ice cream, I was overcome with sadness and I was tired.  If I was someone that cried, I would have been crying then.  I am not someone who cries though.  I can barely remember the last time that I cried.  Instead, I become quiet and retreat to my own little world.  That is how I mourn.  I don't know if that is a healthy way of going about things, but it's how I do that.  I suppose that part of that has to do with the fact that I'm a fairly private person.   

I can say though, that it was good to be with family.  They make me a better person.  The week that I was home reminded me just how much God has blessed me with them.  This past week, I spent a lot of time with them.  I heard stories that I had not heard before.  My dad and I got to talk more than we usually do.  Living apart from family often means that we don't talk as much as we should.  Yet nothing can break the bonds that tie us to our families.  Nor should those ties ever be broken.  Family is not easy to live with at times.  Yet when the chips are down for us, I firmly believe that there is nothing better than to have family by your side. 

Tuesday evening was the visitation.  We had it up in Sheridan because my dad knows the funeral director there.  We didn't really know how many people would show up.  It was absolutely packed from the time it started until about fifteen minutes before it was supposed to end.  I met relatives that I didn't even know I had.  Apparently, my Grandpa Rogers was one of fourteen.  The only siblings left are my great Uncle Sock and great Aunt Suk (nicknames, I have no clue what their real names are).  My Uncle also had a lot of friends.  He was never married and didn't have any kids, but his life was full of good friends.  One of his friends had been his friend since Kindergarten.  Fifty years of friendship.  Wow.  Just wow.  Who does that anymore?  Very few of us do.

On Wednesday, we had the funeral.  There had to have been 150 people there, friends and family.  The pall bearers dressed in Michigan shirts, because Uncle Kenny was a huge Michigan fan.  He puts me to shame.  Personally, I think that can take a lot to do.  We had some music played and Pastor Phil gave a good funeral sermon.  He talked about Uncle Kenny's bluntness, how he took pride in the work that he did, and his loyalty to those whom he loved and cared about.  For someone who didn't know Uncle Kenny personally, it was a really good sermon.  I appreciated it.  It's not easy to do that.  Preach at a funeral where you don't know the person.  I'm sure that in the future, I will be in Pastor Phil's shoes as well.

On Friday, I flew back to Baldwin.  My dad dropped me off at the airport in Grand Rapids at about eight in the morning.  My flight was at 10:00, so I figured that I wouldn't have long to wait and I wanted to make sure that I got through security with plenty of time to spare.  I didn't need to worry about that.  The plane was stuck in Minneapolis due to a mechanical problem.  I actually didn't get into Minneapolis until about 1:30 pm CT.  Yep, that was an exercise in patience.  But I got back to Baldwin safe and sound.  So now I'm here for another seven weeks or so and then I will be returning to Sheridan and back to Holland for another year at WTS.

Without looking ahead and forgetting to enjoy the present, I find that I'm looking forward to being back at Western for one more year.  You see, there are some things that I have come to love about Western.  It's certainly not a perfect place, but I love the people there.  For the first time in my life, I have an extensive network of friends.  I've never really had that before.  In high school, I had a couple fairly good friends, but only ever really did things outside of school with one of them.  If it weren't for youth group, I would have gone crazy.  In college, I had three close friends.  I had other friends as well, but only three who were really close that I actually stay in touch with.  Funny thing is, two of them will be clergymen, one Roman Catholic, the other Anglican.  The other one is at grad school for chemistry. 

Seminary has been a different experience.  I use the term "network" because that's what it is.  There are several different groups of people at the seminary that contain close friends of mine.  There are a couple buddies that I can ring their door bell and stop in for a chat just about any time I want.  Hopefully not to the consternation of their wives.  They both graduated this past May and won't be there next year, but the last two bachelors that I'm really close to just got married and I'm going to be stopping by their apartments next year I'm sure.  I'll have to make friends with other bachelors though.  Then there's my teaching church, where the youth group is and its many leaders.  These people have blessed me in many ways.  Ecclesiastes 4 tells us that "though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken."  Like my uncle did, I have a richer life because of my friends.  I doubt that I would have made it so far in seminary if I hadn't had them.  I am truly stronger because of the friends and family that God has given me.  I am truly blessed.

Well, I said that it had been awhile.  I also said that I would only talk about a couple things and I think I ended up writing a novel.  So we'll have to save the rest for another time.  I hope this post finds you well.  May God be gracious to each of you.