I will never forget the package in the mail. It was a few days after October 15th. I remember that date because October 15th was the day we spent at the remembrance gathering for Carly. We went to church that day, against the hubby's best advice. Church let out at noon, and the event began at 2:00. It was going to be a tight fit to make both appearances. I just trusted that timing would work out and it did, but it almost didn't.
Church ran a little long, but the extra time was worth it. I left a few minutes early to go get Cailey from sunday school so we could leave as quickly as possible. What I didn't do was take my car keys and sunglasses with me, and left them next to Scott, still sitting on the pew.
Scott and I met back up in the lobby. As soon as I saw him waiting for me without keys in hand, I remembered that I had left that stuff on the pew and he didn't know it. At one point they were right next to me, but when we saw a friend of ours, Scott and I switched sides so I could sit next to her. That's when I forgot. I forgot all the way through the message. I forgot all the way to and from retrieving Cailey. I forgot all the way up until I saw Scott. Believe it or not, I wasn't nervous about losing the keys to our 5year loan vehicle. I was most worried about someone picking up my prized Versace sunglasses.
The chapel was nearly cleared out. I saw my glasses still sitting on the beck in our pew, but no car keys! HUH!?! If I was going to take anything, I would have taken someone's fancy glasses. Or I would have taken both the glasses and the keys to return them together. I would NOT have only taken the car keys. We searched high and low. We searched over and over. We enlisted others to search with us. I checked, double-checked, and triple checked the office to see if someone turned them in. NOPE.
The clock was ticking. Every minute was brewing deeper panic in me. Everyone that could help, was, but it wasn't solving the problem. The problem was I had no way to get to the event I had been looking forward to more than any other date since her death. 40 minutes into this ordeal, Scott was out trying to break in the car, and I was sobbing in the lobby and just wishing that nobody could see me. I was two more tear drops from gliding down the aisles of the chapel, straight to the very front, getting on my knees and praying as shamelessly as I could. I was already silently praying (begging actually) for God to do something... anything... just fix this.
An hour went by and we were still stuck in the parking lot. About then, a car came slithering up to where were, and offered up the keys that we had lost. I was relieved, though resentfully so.
Anyways, we made it in perfect time which was nothing short of a miracle. Not a minute to spare mind you, and with seats only because they were saved by mom and Britt.
More to the point, it was few days later that a book came in the mail. "Treasures from the Darkness". It was personally inscribed by the author, our pastor. We are new to this church. We don't really talk to anyone. How did he know to send us this book? It was a book about the loss of his first child, a stillborn baby. He also lost his wife at that same moment. His pain, grief, mistakes, realizations, and recovery are all recounted in his mostly autobiographical piece.
I can't thank him enough. The words he wrote sooth my soul, my spirit, my emotions, my heart, and my mind in ways that I couldn't do for myself. Every day, I write him a thank you email in my mind. I have so much to say, to a man I have never even shook hands with. I see him every Sunday now, and while he may not see me, he speaks directly to me. Every message, every week, has a little piece in it that I could easily believe he prepared just for Tiffany and Scott. I love him.
Church ran a little long, but the extra time was worth it. I left a few minutes early to go get Cailey from sunday school so we could leave as quickly as possible. What I didn't do was take my car keys and sunglasses with me, and left them next to Scott, still sitting on the pew.
Scott and I met back up in the lobby. As soon as I saw him waiting for me without keys in hand, I remembered that I had left that stuff on the pew and he didn't know it. At one point they were right next to me, but when we saw a friend of ours, Scott and I switched sides so I could sit next to her. That's when I forgot. I forgot all the way through the message. I forgot all the way to and from retrieving Cailey. I forgot all the way up until I saw Scott. Believe it or not, I wasn't nervous about losing the keys to our 5year loan vehicle. I was most worried about someone picking up my prized Versace sunglasses.
The chapel was nearly cleared out. I saw my glasses still sitting on the beck in our pew, but no car keys! HUH!?! If I was going to take anything, I would have taken someone's fancy glasses. Or I would have taken both the glasses and the keys to return them together. I would NOT have only taken the car keys. We searched high and low. We searched over and over. We enlisted others to search with us. I checked, double-checked, and triple checked the office to see if someone turned them in. NOPE.
The clock was ticking. Every minute was brewing deeper panic in me. Everyone that could help, was, but it wasn't solving the problem. The problem was I had no way to get to the event I had been looking forward to more than any other date since her death. 40 minutes into this ordeal, Scott was out trying to break in the car, and I was sobbing in the lobby and just wishing that nobody could see me. I was two more tear drops from gliding down the aisles of the chapel, straight to the very front, getting on my knees and praying as shamelessly as I could. I was already silently praying (begging actually) for God to do something... anything... just fix this.
An hour went by and we were still stuck in the parking lot. About then, a car came slithering up to where were, and offered up the keys that we had lost. I was relieved, though resentfully so.
Anyways, we made it in perfect time which was nothing short of a miracle. Not a minute to spare mind you, and with seats only because they were saved by mom and Britt.
More to the point, it was few days later that a book came in the mail. "Treasures from the Darkness". It was personally inscribed by the author, our pastor. We are new to this church. We don't really talk to anyone. How did he know to send us this book? It was a book about the loss of his first child, a stillborn baby. He also lost his wife at that same moment. His pain, grief, mistakes, realizations, and recovery are all recounted in his mostly autobiographical piece.
I can't thank him enough. The words he wrote sooth my soul, my spirit, my emotions, my heart, and my mind in ways that I couldn't do for myself. Every day, I write him a thank you email in my mind. I have so much to say, to a man I have never even shook hands with. I see him every Sunday now, and while he may not see me, he speaks directly to me. Every message, every week, has a little piece in it that I could easily believe he prepared just for Tiffany and Scott. I love him.
No comments:
Post a Comment