Melancholy

Today I went to a funeral at Westover UMC in Raleigh.
The service was for Carol Hines Watson.
Carol was a strong, talented, Southern lady who possessed faith, foresight, & leadership. She was a charming lady:)
She was also the mother of my good friend Anne.

Twenty years ago my family left Westover UMC. It was heartbreaking to leave that church but circumstances pressed us, ushered us (and over 100 other friends), to pack up & move on.
Suffice it to say that our basic beliefs were being tested (Carol & husband Roy left with us, then returned to Westover friends after a time)

I had not been back, til today.
I must say it was humbling.
Time heals much.
Regrets & unforgiveness have been erased long ago.
A sense of melancholy overcame me (besides grieving for Carol's husband Roy & Anne).
Why?
Maybe it was how things should have been or could have been at Westover.
Maybe it was because Keith & I grew spiritually while there (with Kenneth Sexton as pastor & precious Rosamond his wife).
Maybe it was that twenty years had passed so quickly.
Maybe it was because my children were born while we attended Westover & spent part of their childhood there.
Maybe that our New Life Class was such a precious tight knit group for many years, & we were sent out to worship separately.
Maybe it was all the above?

I firmly believe God has a purpose for all things, so when doors are closed & other open, when our lives take a turn in mid-stream where we're so comfortable & we're driven to another part of the river, there's a reason.

I admit it was a sweet feeling to see Rev. Kenneth Sexton in that pulpit again:) Did twenty years melt away?
For a few minutes:)

I'm a better person for Kenneth, for those years at Westover, and for being nudged to another place where people of faith love & care for one another--I'm at Peace:)