Until We Meet Again

May, 2004

by: John Richard

Many of you, if not all of you have seen an award ceremony before. Now, imagine being one of the five finalists for a prestigious award, sitting and waiting for the announcer to declare the winner. What would be going through your minds as you sat there? Do you know what you would say if you won the award? Well, there you are, decked out in a smooth outfit, heart racing, and palms sweaty, awaiting the announcement of the award. Then, all of a sudden the speaker approaches the podium and begins to speak announcing that you are the winner. You are the winner of this year's prestigious award. You slowly stand up, and while the audience is applauding, you approach the stage. As you get up there and receive the award, you turn to the crowd and speak. You begin to thank a host of people for your fortune, make some other comments and then leave to another applause.

In a somewhat similar way, in this article I am going to take some time to thank the church body for a variety of reasons. Now I have not won a prestigious award, nor am I waiting for one, but Jamie and I have been blessed to serve here at Calvary Bible Church for more than three years, and we would like to take this opportunity to say thanks.

First of all, we want to say thanks to the Lord for His continual kindness, patience and goodness towards us. We have been the recipients of His mercy and grace on an incessant basis. It is true as Jeremiah states, “His mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). He graciously has given us two children with a third on the way. He has graciously enabled Kaylee's (our daughter) heart to look like brand new. He has also graciously had Jamie and I go through trials, where the benefits have been enormous. He has brought us tremendous friends, continually provided for us over the past three years in every way.

Second of all, we want to thank the body of Christ here for continuing to pray for us during our time here. Thanks for taking the time to go before the throne of grace, presenting our needs before our merciful High Priest. That is truly a sacrificial gift of which we can not say “thanks” enough. Thanks also for so many of you who helped us by watching our children, who gave us a variety of gifts, who wrote notes to us, who called us, who challenged us in the Lord, who had us over, who made meals for us, who just said “hi” to us when you saw us. The list could go on, but we are so thankful for you all.

Third of all, we want to thank the leadership at Calvary Bible Church for giving me an opportunity to serve here. I was pretty “wet under the ears” when I first came (not that I have changed at all), so thanks for bearing with me. Thanks for all of your prayer and taking time to impart wisdom to my wife and myself. We treasure everything that we have gleaned from you.

Finally, I just want to let you know that we love you all and that we are going to truly miss you all. My children are going to miss you, as this is all they know. Joshua and Kaylee were both born while we were here at Calvary Bible Church, a place that Joshua loves and desires to go when his daddy leaves home in the mornings. We went through some major life experiences here as my wife had two miscarriages and my daughter had open–heart surgery. We also had front row seats to see the Lord save people and grow them to be closer to Him. We have been blessed beyond measure during our time here and in closing we don't want to say “goodbye,” but “until we meet again.” Please abide in Christ, pursuing Him diligently for the rest