Saying “good-bye” is something I intensely dislike. It is so easy to get attached to people, especially when you labor together – and especially when it is Kingdom work. To be candid, I still haven’t recovered from Lou Banning’s home-going. I think about Lou all of the time. I have a picture of Lou firmly engraved in my mind, riding the tractor across the front lawn of Windsor Hills. I’d drive up in my old truck, headed somewhere, and we’d stop and chat for a while . . . or an hour. Cheerful, in spite of the pain in his back, Lou and I would talk across a range of topics. I loved Lou. I deeply appreciated his commitment to keeping the camp looking good.

And now, here I am saying good-bye to Bill and Winnie Grenier. Bill and Winnie aren’t leaving permanently, just relocating permanently to South Carolina. Both will be sorely missed. Winnie was a quiet type, but a woman I knew was praying for us. She worked with the ladies this year as they got the Inn ready for the camping season.

Bill was a workhorse. He would try just about anything you asked him to try. He spent lots of time hauling and lifting and working with the construction laborers. But he could also cook. I never saw a guy crack eggs as fast as Bill. One in each hand he would go, swinging away until the eggs were a-scramblin’ on the stove. He knew when to stop cooking, too, so that they wouldn’t be overdone by the time they hit the buffet. Bill mowed some of Lou’s grass, always making himself useful. He was another member of the Paul Willette School of “Redeeming the Time”.

Wesley would have been proud of these guys. Investing, always investing. I learn an important lesson from them. There is always something to give . . . if I will give it. And in the process of giving, I develop rich relationships that bring great joy to life. Working together, spending time together, these things forge strong bonds. No wonder I am having so much trouble saying good-bye. Bill and Winnie, we’ll miss you. We’re praying for the folks who will take your place. There are new bonds that we must forge.