June and Arthur.

June Olive Faulk and Robert Arthur Kelly were married at 8pm on June 12th, 1953 in Charlotte, NC. It is a tender honor to share words about them today because they are my Mom and Dad. I had nothing to do with who my Mom and Dad would be. I had nothing to do with whether I would even exist today. I sense the value in slowing to consider God's larger story in my life through these two. Those smiles.

God's larger story intersected with June and Arthur in 1967. They already had two beautiful daughters. In 1967, a good full decade after both of their daughters arrived, June and Arthur were processing through the wondering of another child. In 1967, the reality was that medical professionals considered a woman at 35 years old to be way on the outside edge of giving birth. It wasn't a casual thought. There would be conversations about risks, even seeming dissuading from pressing on for another baby at 35 years old. June and Arthur entered into those dialogues around their 15th anniversary in 1967. They decided together, in the face of the current awareness of how old my mom was, to press forward. Let's try.

June and Arthur. Thank you.

Extremely tender. Extremely humbling.

I want to swim in the depths of this deliberate conversation of my parents.

I now know intimate and transforming relationship with...

Rhonda (my sister)

Daphne (my sister)

Lea (my wife)

Trey (my son)

Trent (my son)

Meg (his wife)

Taylor (my son)

Ashley (his wife)

Emma (their daughter, our granddaughter)

My heart is forever marked by these glorious souls. I am so very rich in relationship with these hearts.

And relationship with each of you who would kindly receive these words today, even if the relationship is primarily through these words and you receiving them.

I can hardly take it in. And it all trails back to Trinity and June and Arthur.

Trinity, June and Arthur, thank you.

My Mom and Dad are both right around 90 years of living. That is a humbling thought in itself. It has been beautiful. It has been hard. It has been messy. It has been humbling. Love covers a multitude of sins. This is real in every family. Thanks be to God. They just celebrated anniversary number 67.

67.

I told Lea as we celebrated 30 years a few weeks ago that we have to double our thirty and still add 7 more years to that to get to 67 years like my parents. Papa knows about the time. I'm just pondering 67 years.

I remember as a young boy waiting at the entrance of our neighborhood on my bike for my dad to come home from work. I would see his yellow, 1973 Mustang ragtop coming down the road towards me. As he would turn in, I would start riding my bike alongside his car as fast as I could. I remember that he would downshift as he would near the turn onto Carousel Dr. I loved that sound. When we both got to the driveway he would tell me how fast I got up to from his speedometer.

I waited for him.

My mom is the most passionate, tender and feeling pianist that I have ever heard. She played the prelude music at Lea and my wedding 30 years ago. Lea and I watch our wedding recording each anniversary to savor and remember that special weekend of our lives. Each year, we slow now and listen to every second of my mom's prelude music. I weep at the beauty.

I miss hearing her play.

As a spouse and parent myself, I have such compassion for June and Arthur Kelly. It's hard. It's messy.

It's exquisite.

Trinity, June and Arthur.....

Thank you.

There's more.