Something to Remember

Tonight was a sweet time of hearing the words of our husbands through letters.  It is a tradition that the graduating class write these letters to the wives.  My sweet Noah wrote with love and care.  He did a great job, especially considering he had to fit four years of all that we have been through onto one page.  But within the bag given to me was a painting, and as I soon as I saw it I gasped.  (Seriously, I did!  I am not just using that word for the effect!)  It is a painting of the chapel on campus so that we can all remember our time here while in seminary.  It is a sweet time for so many of us, but Noah and I agree that we are so appreciative of this painting.  It is not only the chapel on campus to us, but it is where we had Magdalena's funeral.  We thought to use the chapel so that we could have a place separate from our church, but, yet, a special place.  When we made that decision we didn't think about the fact that Noah would still be attending weekly.  Going there for chapel, even now, many years later, is hard for him.  I am so proud of him though because he did go.  It took him some months to cross that threshold, but he did.  This is kind of the story of our lives now.  Every next step is scary, sad, and exciting all rolled into joy, and when we follow God's calling for us despite all of those emotions, we have always been truly blessed.  It doesn't matter if we stay nearby or go far away, this painting will have so many different meanings for us.