People feel it when they come in, and wonder about it, and sometimes ask about it, but we don't have words for it. We feel we are doing something right, but we're not sure what, or how. Perhaps it's a secret. Perhaps we are learning something here that the world in general does not know, or see, or recognize. They are part of your family.
Relationships formed in joy and sorrow remain long after the immediate joy or sorrow has passed.
For example, a month ago, I heard this testimony from a beautiful young woman who was raised in this church. I remember, when I was a little girl, there was an old man named John Garver who always greeted me at the door. These are vital signs, signs of life, symptoms of what it means to be alive in the land of the living. Therefore, it is right for us to laugh together, and weep together, because it is good for us, individually and collectively. I would like to conclude with a little story that may illustrate some of these points.