One of the true gifts of a small church is the intergenerational community that occurs out of necessity. During Lent, I am participating in a study that is built around the poems of Mary Oliver. The class that is hosting the study is regularly attended by women in their 70’s or older and most of them are widows. Yesterday, we shared about experiences how we experienced nature in unique ways, one of the women at the table discussed how she attended a sunrise service at the local lake on the Easter after losing her husband. During a moment of silence she heard a bird sing and felt an intimate connection with her husband and God. The lake had special meaning for her husband and the family had scattered his ashes over the water.

Soon after that story, the leader asked for volunteers to read and when the woman next to me began reading a poem she was suddenly overcome with grief. When I discussed it with her later, she said that the words reminded her of her husband and she missed him so much. Still – four years later, the grief was as fresh as yesterday.

As I reflected on both experiences, I thought about my husband and how much I cherish our life together. It is easy to take such things for granted as we go about our daily lives, but seeing others who are living without their partners reminded me to embrace the relationship I have and celebrate our journey together. I often crave community with people in my own stage of life. However, if I isolate myself too much I will miss out on all that I can learn from others who have lived a full life. Additionally, I need to be able to model for people younger than me what I have learned so far in my experiences.

So for today, I will embrace the small church and all that it has to teach me.