These Are Days

These are days you’ll remember

Never before and never since, I promise

Will the whole world be warm as this

And as you feel it,

You’ll know it’s true

That you are blessed and lucky

--“These Are Days” by 10,000 Maniacs

Yesterday was overwhelming.  I said goodbye to a wonderful congregation:  St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Bemus Point, New York.  After worship, there was a lovely coffee hour in my honor with a beautiful photo slideshow, a special song that the congregation sang for me, and very kind words.  I cried.  They cried.  I was, and am, very grateful for our time together.

I am stepping away from parish ministry to pursue another master’s degree, this time at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.  I have always loved school, and I am excited to go back, but a little nervous, too.  I have been thinking about first days of school in general:  finding your way around a new building, meeting new classmates and teachers, and the same sense of possibility that comes when you are starting a lot of new things.  No one knows how the school year will turn out yet, and your books and notebooks and pencils are still shiny and new.  Anything can happen.  Do you ever feel that sense of possibility?  What does that for you? 

After worship, I went to lunch with Adam, my parents, and some dear friends.  We ate by the lake and watched the ducks, sharing good food and conversation.  My parents headed home and the rest of us drove to the Chautauqua Institution to catch the end of a free 10,000 Maniacs concert.  The last song they played was “These Are Days.”  I had one of those moments where I knew, as it was happening, that I would look back on it fondly.  I sang along to the song with our friends and was so glad to be with them, so grateful for good years at St. Timothy, and so excited for the new adventure that awaits in North Carolina. 

I thought then what I think now:  These are days I’ll remember, and I know it’s true, that I am blessed and lucky…and grateful.  Yes.