I shall spare you all the next few years of my life which were peppered with goodbyes since I ended up marrying a military guy. I managed to survive each one, but never really mastered the art. I made some really good friends along our military route. I have conjured up a lot of memories of each of them as I write this blog. I think that might be a sign that although I don't enjoy the goodbye, I do remember the friendship and even keep in touch with them as well.
Alas, that brings me to the goodbye that this title speaks of, it is of my dear friend John Stumbo. I have known that he was going to leave our church for a while, but it doesn't make his departure any less painful. I don't want to hash out his tenure at our church because it would take up too much space and I could never do it justice. Suffice to say that today he said that he can't understand all the people saying to him how much they have been blessed by him because he feels so blessed by being apart of this thing called Salem Alliance. Salem Alliance has been blessed beyond this blog and any other articulation by John Stumbo. Pause here for tears...
So, on this day of him packing his final things in his office which is a few feet from my cubicle... I sat at my desk and wandered over to his office to pop off occasionally. It was a good vibe. We'd had our goodbyes and I wasn't feeling particularly weepy, just kinda flipping him crap. At one point I went in his office and noticed a really cool triangle shaped metal ruler in one of his boxes. I picked it up and commented that it was nifty. It was quite nifty, btw, one of those cool old ones. Anyway, late in the day out comes Stumbo... he says "Anyone with an eclectic work space like you that comments on this, deserves to have it." He handed me the cool ruler. I told him that I didn't need it and he should keep it, I was just commenting on it and it was from Minnesota, so he should keep it. He casually says "it was from my Dad's office" He wanted me to have it. It was such a very non-event and yet it was an event. Here was John giving me something that had been his Dad's in such a casual way... it was perfect in that our friendship has always been that way. I don't need to give the details, but basically John gets me and I get him.
A bit later, he was leaving for good and I offered to help carry boxes out to his car. He said he'd love me to help. I did and his assistant Kathy helped too, he told a funny story about his recently purchased car and a speeding ticket, it was all very casual and normal... we loaded his car and he drove off. I will miss my friend. I will see him again, I know this, but I will miss him so much. As Josh Mann said (our Middle School Pastor) John has a quality of occupying an inordinate amount of space in people's hearts. I think that is a good quote. I know that is true with me. I will miss him very much. I continue to pray that he will run again and that he will be healed.
Good bye John. See you later. You have touched my heart in knowing you. I will never be the same.
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