May is a month of remembering. When May comes around, I remember prom as the massive celebration at the end of senior year following our long journey of high school together. In a single night, we gave thanks for the many ways we shared each other’s burdens in the tough times and rejoiced in our many accomplishments and victories. I remember the limousine, the dinner, the dancing, and the After Prom at Geauga Lake Amusement Park that kept us on the rides and waterslides until dawn. I remember good friends, some of whom are still in touch.
When I flip the calendar to May, I remember annual Mother’s Day gatherings with Mom and grandmas. Long before there were special buffets on this hallowed day, our family would head to Sunday brunch at Dietz’s Landing and celebrate mom’s day out of the kitchen, while we watched the Sunday boating activity glide by on Portage Lakes.
I remember Confirmation, this annual ritual in the Christian Church to mark one’s Affirmation of Baptism. It is a moment when, after years of study, prayer, retreats, and intentional wrestling with issues of life and faith, an adolescent stands before their church community and answers a series of questions about the journey ahead with the response, “I will and I ask God to help and guide me.” (Check me out in the middle of the back row.)
In May, I remember graduations and graduation parties. After four years of focus, effort, and goofing, these festivities mark a rite of passage into adulthood. Whether heading to college or into the workforce, life was about to change. For these few weeks, we gave thanks for what had been, even as we were leaning into all that was to come.
I remember Memorial Day parades, cemetery rituals with the presentation of the flag, a local dignitary speaking about sacrifice and community, the gun salute that always made me jump, and staring down row after row of granite markers as military personnel played “Taps” on a solitary bugle.
Throughout all of these years and events, I give thanks for the many lives that have intersected with mine. For innumerable family members, mentors, teachers, friends, and the nameless acquaintances that have offered me encouragement, correction, guidance, perspective, and hope, I am grateful.
I am especially thankful for the ways they have brought the story of Jesus alive. In Hebrews, the writer describes a “cloud of witnesses,” a beautiful image of people of faith who have given shape to our journeys with God. They have been a tremendous gift to us and will continue to mold our lives into the future, even as we encounter the One who says, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
This May, remember those who have been part of your journey. Draw them to mind. Give thanks for them and to them, as you are able.
In gratitude and grace,
Pastor Lowell