Our church is in a place of both grieving and celebration as we ponder the earthly loss yet celebrate and remember the life of Luba, Nicky Murphy’s mother. To our crew, she is the grandmother (or “Babushka”) of Sonya, Sasha, Mace, Deacon, Diesel and Knox. Personally, I think about the way that she loved on my two sons (and I have no doubt of the smile that shown on her face when Nicky showed her pictures of Bekah). People who love my children will always hold a special place with me, and the same is certainly true of Luba.

I was honored to be with our church family as we honored Luba this week in her memorial service, and I was very glad to be able to be there for the Murphys 6 and their family. I see this particular behavior every week with our students, but I was especially aware of the way our other students were interacting with the Six this past Sunday. They were there. They were available. They were intentional. And they were loving towards the Six as they undoubtedly made themselves available to share the burden of grief with the Six, whether they themselves allowed it to show or not.

Our students are amazing young individuals. They exhibit desirable character traits without any influence from us as Youth leaders, but I know how sacred our community is to us within our student ministry. And I know that the seeds that our leaders and our church are planting with these young men and women are taking root.

And it is SO rewarding to get to see.

Blessings,
David