Usually, the stories I
post are ones that I have read or viewed on television or the computer. But this week, I personally know the three
young ladies, along with generations of their families, because I watched them grow up at Tallowood Baptist Church.
Valerie and Jon Millard
have been married almost 12 years. They
have twins, a daughter and son, who are now in Kindergarten. Jon is in the military and has once again
been deployed. With Valerie’s family in
Texas and Jon’s in Ohio, they count on people in the church and military to be
their “Family” away from home. Added to
missing Jon, Valerie and the kids are also dealing with the isolation from
COVID-19. Valerie is intentional about
teaching and providing treasured moments for their children. She recently posted, “I love them. May they look back on this weird time with
fun memories and not fear. May they
remember the million miles we scooted around our little neighborhood – the fun
things their teacher did on ‘computer school’ – and the quality time they got
with me. I pray these long days are not
wasted. They are long – challenging – we
are missing Jon something fierce. But we
are together. As for me, I will always remember that.”
Brooke Wallace and Russell
Boremann were set to marry on April 4, 2020.
As the date came closer and closer, unexpected decisions needed to be
made. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention declared that due to the Corona Virus, events were to be limited
to 250 guests. With 270 guests invited,
there would need to be adjustments. “We
started praying about it and met with the pastor who was going to marry us,”
Wallace said. “I teetered back and forth
between wanting to just be married and wanting to have that special day.” The couple was able to reschedule the wedding
venue and vendors, but then decided they wanted to go ahead with the original
wedding date. Before the date, the CDC
changed to no more than 50 people could congregate. With permission from City Council, the
wedding could take place outside the church on their chosen date or inside if
it was inclement weather.
Treasured blessings,
according to Brooke:
* There was a torrential
downpour so they were able to have their wedding in the church.
* Their wedding party was
able to watch on Zoom.
* The reception was held
at the bride’s parents’ home. Each
family had their own table, in order to comply with social distancing.
* Although Brooke wore her
wedding dress at the church, she didn’t want to wear it at home because of the
big skirt. “My grandmother said that she
still had her wedding dress, so that’s what I ended up wearing. It’s 56 years old, and she got to see me in
it. That never would’ve happened at my
original wedding.”
* “It was better than the
270-person wedding because this was intimate and so sweet.”
April 25, 2020, was to
have been graduation day, from Indiana Wesleyan University, for Ashley
Johns. Due to the closing of schools,
Ashley missed her last chorale banquet.
She also did not get to sing her final concert, move out of the lodge
with her family’s help, or say her final goodbyes. There were so many things Ashley had planned
for and dreamed of for those final college days. But then Ashley’s laments turned to treasured
moments that she did have her final semester.
* Games with friends in
their 1st home
* Antiquing with friends
* Hiking with her favorite
people
* Discovering a small zoo
* Watching a friend marvel
at a store full of old books
* Listening to her
favorite piano piece played by her favorite piano player
* Throwing a hilarious
fake graduation
And Ashley’s treasured
moments did not stop there. Once home,
she “got to”…
* See the magnolia trees
bloom for the first time in four years
* Notice how much the
little boy she babysat is growing
* Go on adventures with
her brother
* Watch TV with her family
* Work puzzles with her
grandparents after dropping off groceries
* Celebrate her Dad’s
birthday with him for the first time in four years
In her post, Ashley
concluded, “I still grieve the should haves.
I still wish I had gotten to do all those things and more. That things had gone the way I planned. But I also wonder how many of those got to’s
I would have missed or never would have happened at all. And they don’t make the grief go away. But
the memories made in the got to’s make the grief of the should haves tolerable. I go back and I look at pictures and I know
that those moments would not have happened if everything had gone according to
my plan. And I realize that those
moments were always God’s plan. And
despite all that I lost in the should haves I am immensely grateful for the got
to’s.”
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about
such things.
Philippians
4:8
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