Nothing very poetic or profound is coming to mind right now. Silly as it is, I'd hoped to write you guys something that sounded a little like Frost wrote it, something with depth but also a little emotional, recalling the last several years and anticipating the great adventure before you. Alas, it's still my fingers at the keyboard, and despite my efforts not to be selfish, I feel a great deal of loss right now. I'd hoped that somehow plans would change, and that you would stay in Atlanta. I've put this letter off for weeks, but it is time to write.
Let me hasten to say that despite my melancholy I am very happy for both of you. Tracy, this move will be a great blessing to Evan and Garrett. I know you already create a wonderful environment for your children, but the benefit of your presence at home will be beyond calculation. I am very happy for the kids, and for you.In Hauerwas' book, A Community of Character, he wrote: "...one of the most morally substantive things any of us ever has the opportunity to do is to have children. A child represents our willingness to go on in the face of difficulties, suffering, and the ambiguity of modern life and is thus our claim that we have something worthwhile to pass on." (p. 165)
I read Hauerwas' comment to mean that the bearing of children is a type of ethical dissent from the world's authorities. The world may thunder, "No!" but in Jesus Christ we are made bold to answer, "Yes!" We do more in becoming parents than merely say "there is something worth living for," although that is no small claim. We are also saying there is something worth dying for, something worth teaching, something worth handing down to our children. In short, we have children so that we might make them disciples of Jesus Christ - a mission clearly not lost on you.
Jeremy, do you remember when we were discussing forming a new Sunday school class? When
you shared your vision of what the class might become I knew it was going to be tremendous success. By the way, is it possible that was really six years ago? Brother, thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Open Word. I've never seen a better Sunday school teacher, or one who thought more pastorally about his or her class than you. The members of your class have benefited greatly by your teaching and much more so by simply watching you follow Jesus.It would be difficult to overstate how important the two of you have been in the life of PCC for the last several years. I am certain I couldn't overstate how important you've been in my life. You've been wonderful friends to me. At times when I needed friends, you've been there. The times we've prayed together, studied together and discussed theology and discipleship over lunch have been more important for my life than I let you know. You've both reminded me, and in many ways, that there is no disconnect between true theology and praxis; rather, they are two sides of the same thing. Your thoughtful ways of approaching issues not only helped me clarify my own perspectives, but also enabled me to be a better disciple. Thank you.
May you meet your new opportunities and challenges with the grace and faithfulness that have been yours through Jesus Christ. May your expectations for your lives and those of your children be as high (and as low) as the Father would have them. May your new home be a haven for those shoved to the margins. May your children grow up to be followers of the Way, and may you live to see their professions of faith and baptisms. May your new careers be a source of joy, not only to you and to others, but primarily to your King. And may you, my dearest sister and brother, be always and forever loyal subjects of "the world's true Lord."
Pax Christi,
RB
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