June 2023

Reflection

Benjamin (our youngest child, pictured above) graduates from high school  on Saturday, June 10.  In August, he begins college.  I am so excited that Ben is off to college and I am mourning the ending of this phase of fatherhood.

Endings and beginnings and the roles they play in our lives keep coming up for me in the last few weeks.  Bayden (our oldest child) left a job recently and is headed to Massachusetts in two weeks to be a music counselor at a summer camp.  Recently my friend, Omari, passed, and his family is figuring out how to live their life without him.  Through these transitions, we experience grief and joy.  Some of it moves smoothly.  Some of it is uncomfortable or painful.  I miss my friend Omari and, at his funeral, hearing stories about how I and others experienced our time with him has challenged me to be even more present and communicative with each person I encounter.

For all of this, I am feeling deep gratitude.  I am thankful for those in my life.  I am thankful for those who were in my life for a moment.  I am thankful that I get to wake up to each new day and try again. I am thankful for God’s creation and beauty in the world in the midst of sorrow, suffering and pain.  I am thankful for a God of love and mercy and grace.  I am thankful for Kairos Collective, a place where I hope we embrace the opportunity to “get to carry each other” through these transitions.