Hard Day

Yesterday was a rough day. More than 500 people gathered together in our church building to celebrate and say goodbye to our minister's beloved wife, Evette Allison. There were many tears, hugs, and quite a bit of laughter as well. You can't remember a spunky little thing like Evette without laughing at some of the memories.

There are three things I will cherish from her funeral.

The first was a picture of her with her youngest child, Blake, taken this past fall. They were standing outside, and she was holding him up, cheek to cheek. His little squishy toddler face was grinning, her beautiful face was smiling, and her blonde hair was blowing in the wind. It's a fantastic picture, one that really captures how in love with her children Evette was.

The second is the image of Jason, Evette's husband, sitting on the front row rocking their 8 year old daughter back and forth to the music as the funeral was beginning. Just picturing that now makes me all teary-eyed.

The third is a song that played towards the end of the service. It was a song Jason had sung for Evette, and I think I had heard it was played at their wedding. It was "Would You Go With Me," a song I had not heard before. The lyrics were touching, but at the end of the song, they had recorded the two girls saying, "Bye, Momma. I love you, Momma." Two sweet, pure voices, expressing their love for the Momma they will always miss.

We'll all miss you, Evette. We'll take care of things down here as best we can and help Jason and the kids get through until they see you again.