Yesterday we gathered at Gordon's grave to read scripture, pray, and release doves.

Today we celebrated my Uncle Herman's life. And for the first time in about fifteen years my two brothers and two sisters and I were together with my parents. Plus all my cousins (all four of them) were there, along with other family members and long-time friends. After the funeral, we had dinner under a beautiful September Oregon sky, and despite the difficult circumstances that brought us here, we were together. My uncle loved photography and snapped thousands upon thousands of photos. So it seemed only fitting to end our time together with flash after flash of cameras clicking to document the reunion, which concluded with a spontaneous chorus of "Happy Trails."

My niece has hosted me, my family, and my younger sis this week. I am here for three more days--a lot to ask. But she has carted, cooked, laundered, and served with absolute cheerfulness. The trees in her backyard are already changing, and I've loved sitting on her porch enjoying the colors and the company.

The service today included this reminder from the mouth of a traumatized Jeremiah following the destruction of Jerusalem:

Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love (hesed).
For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men (Lamentations 3:32-33).