and so the farewell begins...

And so the trek to farewell begins - and new blessings, too: we head to Webster for a Lumsden reunion. There is something uniquely holy about the surviving family gathering in one place to both honor our past and look to the love in our present and future days. We will also have a chance to reconnect with our Mescall family roots too and that will be a blessing. It is somehow fitting that this is the hottest and most humid weekend of the summer, yes? My family has always had a weird sense of humor - even beyond the grave.

To those who came before me in seasons long ago
To those who are the loved-ones that I have yet to know
To those whose noble names I bear,
whose light within me burns
To them in gratitude shall my heart be turned

To those whose lives of courage prepared the way for me
Whose works became my heritage,
whose harvest I may reap
Who left for me a legacy that I have yet to earn
To them in gratitude shall my heart be turned

To those who came before me in days and years long past
To those who are the family that I shall know at last
To those who seek the blessings
of the truth that I have learned*
To them in gratitude shall my heart be turned
(Sally Deford)