Dad's Last Sunday

Top: Dad speaking before he passed the baton to Pastor Kris. Bottom: Dad and Pastor Kris hugging :)

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​After almost 33 years of being the senior pastor at our church, my dad is now transitioning to his next church plant. My parents are moving on to this new ministry, and here I am, staying on without them. I’m extremely happy to stay at my church and carry on my parents’ legacy here. But it’s hard to let go.
 
For months, I had known that Sunday, Feb. 14 was the day that would be my dad’s last Sunday as senior pastor at our church. That Sunday would be the day that Dad officially passed off the baton of leadership to Pastor Kris.
 
For my whole life (28 years!), my dad was my pastor, and this was our church. Then for the last 7 years, my dad was my boss as we served together on staff at our church.
 
You might think that because for the majority of my time on staff, since I both lived and worked with Dad (and often carpooled to work since neither of us had reliable cars) that I would get tired of being with him. But that was never the case. I can say with all sincerity and fullness of heart that for me, my dad has been a good dad, a good pastor, and a good boss.
 
So yes, it’s hard to let go.
 
But the Lord has given me a lot of peace over the last several weeks to be happy and excited for my parents’ new ministry. I remind myself that Dad is still my dad, and I still live only a mile away from my parents, so that’s not changing.
 
And God knew about the timing of all this. He graciously gave me other things in my life to be excited about right now—my book’s upcoming release and my teenage girls who are now living with me. So my mind hasn’t had much idle time to sit around and whine, “Woe is me, my dad is moving to another church.” (Even though there was one night before Christmas that I sat by my Christmas tree and cried about it for a half hour. But that was pretty pitiful, so I’m glad I haven’t been repeating that.) 

​Sitting in the Service
As I went into the service on Sunday, I knew I was going to cry, but I was hoping I’d be at least somewhat dignified about it—you know, maybe just wiping off a tear here and there. But about halfway through the service, I was like, “Who cares? I’m letting this out even though people will see me.”  I thought of the 1963 song lyric “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to.”[1] In my mind, I changed it to “It’s my dad, and I’ll cry if I want to.”
 
But as I listened in the service, and I let myself give in to tears, I realized that even though I was feeling a million emotions (sadness, love, the heartbreak of letting go), the most overwhelming emotion I felt was THANKFULNESS. I felt so thankful for my parents’ faithfulness to serve God at this church for the last 33 years. I felt so thankful that I had been able to grow up in this church and be nurtured by it. I felt so thankful that this is my church family, and I’m so spoiled by everyone’s love and support. I felt so thankful that this is my job, where I get to influence children every single week and teach them God’s Word.
 
In my daily routine, it’s easy to get swamped by the imperfections of my church. No church is perfect, and, of course, nonstop I hear and discuss different opinions about how we should do things. But in that milestone moment on Sunday, I wasn’t thinking about the imperfections of our church; I was only admiring the beauty of it. Isn’t it true that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful?[2] I thought about my parents’ legacy, the history of our church, and even my role in the future mission of our church, and I felt so thankful that I have been and get to continue to be a part of it. Even through my blurry eyes full of tears, it was so clear to me that God is good, and I am blessed.
 
So I chuckled to myself, “Sometimes you just gotta stop and cry because you have good parents, a good church, and a good job.” Not many people can say that, so go ahead—Be emotional and let it out.
 
I sat in my seat after the service was over, and I didn’t want to move. For a second, I felt guilty for not going to check on the children’s classes. But then I thought, No, today, don’t worry just yet about being a leader; just be a daughter.
 
Eventually, I got up, checked my face in the mirror and wiped the dried mascara marks off my cheekbone, went out to eat with my whole family to celebrate, then came home and took a long nap. Later that evening my parents and my brother came over to my house to help me hang some things on my walls. All is well in the world again.
 
It’s a new chapter for my family, and #WeWontShrinkBack.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_My_Party_(Lesley_Gore_song)

[2] Smith, Myquillyn. 

My dad's favorite animated movie is Robin Hood, and we often quote the line where the turtle cheers for his dad. So I say, "Yay, Dad!" for 33 years of faithfulness at BRCC. :)