May 3rd was also supposed to be . . .

This guy's Confirmation Sunday

All year I'd been looking forward to William being confirmed on Ben's birthday.

But alas, it wasn't to be with the virus.

William is five years younger than Ben, grew up at the rink watching Ben play hockey, played a perfect "five-years-younger brother" role to Ben but there were the five years between them, it's different than the two year gap.

But then, a year after Ben's death, at age 11 William decided he needed to play hockey.

And boy, did he click with it. See above, dying Easter Eggs with a hockey stick in hand. (-:

I will always be certain that that choice was a form of his grieving the loss of his older brother, finding a connection to him, to the imprinted memories, smells, action of what he grew up around.

And it just clicked with him, he loves hockey.

So, when it turned out Confirmation Sunday became postponed, I was a little bummed, but it is was it is, right...

Then...this past Sunday, May 3rd, we're watching the service online and low and behold, the pastors make a number of references to Psalm 23 including William's confirmation verse, Psalm 23:4 (Even though I walk through the valley...) in song, hymns, prayer and sermon. Such a beautiful connection that was for me.

💜💜💜

The Gospel Reading 

One of William's last "in school" art projects.

The students were tasked with finding a verse or section of the bible they had an interest in and then make a drawing that represented it in some way. They were not allowed to draw people though. William choose Ezekiel 3:1-3.

And why's that?

Well, one night during my and his devotional reading time at bedtime (he's 13& a 1/2...how lucky have I been that he still welcomes this occasionally!! (-:) we came upon those verses and were flabbergasted to consider the scroll actually being eaten. I told William he needed to follow up on that in his confirmation classes. He did and I guess these verses made an impact:

"And he said to me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey."

May the Lord Bless and Keep William as he graduates 8th grade and moves on to a completely different, very large, educational environment in high school this Fall!