We just got home from our District Convention in Reading, Pennsylvania. I needed it and most of the counsel, well I don't know what everybody else was doing there, because it was mostly directed at me, but I guess the other 5,400 other brothers and sisters got something out of it too.
On Saturday, I was sitting behind a lovely sister with a crown of white hair. Her son came by and was talking to her as we ate lunch, so I was observing both their profiles. They had matching eyes so that is when I interrupted them nicely and said hey, how are ya'll related? They were from Baltimore, and it never ceases to amaze me at the DC's up here that the accents are all a little bit off, and a lot of brs/srs ask me where I am from. Anyhow, we had a nice time chatting away. The son's name was Gary and his sister was sitting with the mom, and the sister's friend. Both of them were from the DC ASL congregation. I tried to learn ASL back in Arkansas, always looking for something new and interesting, which is one of the times I found out my only facility with language is English. I tried learning French, German, and ASL, and I just didn't cotton to it.
Anyhow, in conversation, I found out that Gary's father died in 2008. Later that day we were all singing the song to end the program and the sister and mom started crying during the music. I cried too. We lost a brother back in Arkansas a few months ago. We could not afford nor did we have time to go back for the service. But I still am very tender at heart over this loss, my best friend's father, my daughter's spiritual grandfather, oh how I am both sorry and relieved to add Bob's name to the list of those I will look for in the resurrection. So I was crying away with them and after the prayer, we all hugged.
The next morning, Sunday, I have three girls to pack up and exit the motel, argh. We arrive during the music and head for the same seats as yesterday. There are the sisters from the day before. The seats directly behind them were taken but the ones alongside them in the row were available. Actually, Carly and Sara sat across the aisle; Kimberly and I were with the same sisters. But here is the deal. When we headed that way, the sister looked up and saw us, and smiled, oh she smiled like a sunburst to see us, and we were filled with joy that there were seats (yes, I was crabbing on the car ride there that we'd probably be in some terrible nosebleed section and I'd cripple myself going to the restroom) but mostly, I don't know how to describe it. But if you're reading this you know what I mean. My sister that I had only known for 24 hours looked up and saw me and welcomed me and I was at home in those seats all day.
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