Minutes to Memories

One of the neat things about "church" this time of year is the chance to see so many old friends when they come home for the holidays. Tonight was great for that reason exactly.

The picture above is of the last folks standing (other than me) after all the visiting. We had class for an hour tonight, then stayed and talked for another hour. The talking afterwards was a whole lot better than the class I taught.

The Shows family is one of the neatest families I've ever met. Bill, the patriarch (pictured above), is the guy who put the "gentle" in gentleman, and you will never meet a finer person. He is also defined by the word "unassuming." He moved to Pensacola from Ocean Springs a couple of years ago, and we all found out about it after he was gone! He just doesn't like drawing attention to himself. But much to our delight, a few weeks ago, Bill moved back to Ocean Springs with about as much fanfare as his departure. We are so lucky to have him back around.

Part of the reason we're lucky to have him around is that his kids will come and visit us, too! You will be hard-pressed to find a family that has such an impressive set of siblings, and there are SIX in all! The three not pictured (Becky in Texas, Jesse in Arizona, and Luke in Florida) should grace our church family at some point along the way, and we will be excited to see them. Tonight, we got the chance to enjoy the three beautiful ladies pictured above (Johnie Carol from Colorado, and Vanessa & Lisa who both live in North Carolina now).

The matriarch of the family was JoNan, and she was the most unforgettable person in the whole family. She had been battling cancer for years before I arrived in Ocean Springs, and even though cancer is a brutal opponent, JoNan won most of the time. She was fearless, and just by being fearless, she inspired all of us. She fought cancer for ten years before laying down to rest.

But boy did she leave quite a legacy behind in this special family.

I love all the Shows, but Lisa (far right) is extra special to me. I moved to Ocean Springs in February of 1999, and Lisa was a senior in high school. One month after I moved here I had the chance to drive her to a youth rally in Baton Rouge to catch up with the youth group since she had to work the night before. I was blown away by her maturity at that age, but even more than that, I was amazed to hear her speak about her family. Lisa is the youngest, and she spoke with awe about her siblings and the way they lived their lives. She told me of motherly Becky, and successful Luke, and footloose Johnie Carol backpacking across Europe; she talked of independent Jesse and fun-loving Vanessa at Pepperdine and her plans to follow Vanessa there. With such a family ahead of her, Lisa could not help being extra special.

Lisa had the chance to eat lunch with my Erica yesterday, and I couldn't have been happier. She's the kind of person I would love to have both my daughters spend time with every day.

But we just get chances like this during the holidays it seems. So I'll just count my blessings...