Celebration of a life......I was so very proud of our small historical church here in the midst of the mountains surrounding Marble, CO. We celebrated the life of a long time community member today. She went to her Heavenly home a couple of weeks ago. Our church is small but it was packed with people remembering a wife, a mother, a sister, and a friend. 
A church celebrates the cycles of life. It dedicates babies, marries couples, and commemorates lives that have moved into eternity. So it was today that we as a congregation hosted a family as they remembered their loved one. We cleaned, we set up the fellowship hall, we worked with the family, the florist, and talked with friends of the family. Our little congregation prepared the snacks for after the memorial service. The table was full of food for the large crowd that came for the celebration. I was so proud of our folks. They came through and many worked very hard. The thing that truly blessed me was that everyone lingered and visited for a long time. It was a sign that told me they felt welcome. One guest told me that, "this little church just feels holy."
So yes, as a pastor's wife of a small church nestled between two wilderness areas, I felt a little pride in our folks and a lot of praise for God allowing me to share in the "heartbeats" of a community.