full.

to the good people of mmc,

your tenderness toward my parents is the stuff of legends.

thank you for loading my dad up with trail mix, and for besieging their doorstep with gifts, and for your eager willingness to supply both the paint and the labor to refinish their walls. thank you for carrying their hearts with buoyant affirmation, both spoken and written.

thank you for hearing their pie-in-the-sky yearning to see the grandkids, and answering with webcams, for them and us both.

thank you for honoring my dad as a pastor still, even though it’s been a good nine years since his stroke. and for that matter, thank you for carrying our family then, for braving that uncertain shaky terrain and never once letting go.

thank you for praying big and loving fierce and smiling with an earnestness that still feels like home to me. despite my leanings toward autonomy, ‘tis not always a breeze to do life some five thousand miles from my mom and dad. but i find rest knowing they keep good company in each one of you.

you are Jesus in sweet island skin, and you pour my heart so full.

mahalo nui loa,
nicki