So I close this book of stories meant for you. I hope they will help you, and let you know that your life, too, will have stories to tell. None of my stories would mean anything without Jesus, and neither will yours. He is the story-weaver, weaving of our lives a great tapestry of colors, some dark, some brilliantly shining, all part of the whole which will only be known when we go Home.

For seven years, you all have been part of my story, perhaps one of the greatest. I have come to love each of you as my own. That will never change, even when I'm old and all of traces of being kids has passed from you. I'll love and remember you, even if you walk away from the One who loves you and who made us part of each other. No matter how far you stray, there will always be a light in my window - and in His window - when you come Home.

There are, of course, many more stories to be told. Perhaps many more to be written, and you will be in them. Until then, remember the time we spent together - the nights of worship, the day outings in which I usually ended up getting injured somehow (getting tagged with an iceball & falling into cactus, cutting my leg on Jim's bumper after Tim threw a firecracker at my feet on July 4th), the times we fought and the times we cried, the times we laughed and the times we prayed. The night two of our First Kids gave birth to Gregory Joel was one of the proudest moments of my life. I hope he reads this books someday. And Zerah. And Cody, and Hanna, and all the Gamwell kids, and their kids. All of us - We were - and always will be - family.