Seventeen years ago, Jay began his ministry at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. This family photo takes us back to that season, when we were beginning a new chapter in our lives.
But the story of how we came to Peachtree began before we ever arrived in Atlanta. It began with a conversation that connected two families, separated by more than a century, through the loss of a child.
When Jay and I met with Peachtree’s senior pastor, Vic Pentz, he shared the story of the church’s beginnings. More than 100 years earlier, the Honours were returning home from the funeral of their infant son, Lance, when they saw children playing along the road. In the midst of their grief, they felt called to start a Sunday school for those children in memory of their son. That small beginning became the foundation of the story of Peachtree Presbyterian Church.
As Vic shared their story, Jay and I looked at each other. We knew what the other was thinking. We, too, had lost an infant son, Brock. We knew the heartache of saying goodbye to a child and the way that loss becomes part of your story forever.
Could it be that God was calling us to Atlanta? Could He be weaving our story into the story of Peachtree, just as He had woven the Honours’ grief into the beginnings of the church?
We didn't know all that lay ahead, but something about that connection felt significant. Looking back now, seventeen years later, we can see how much of our lives became intertwined with the people and ministry of Peachtree. We arrived with our own story of loss, faith, and the sustaining presence of God, and we found ourselves becoming part of a much larger story.
God has a way of weaving our stories together in ways we could never have planned or imagined. Sometimes we recognize those connections only when we look back.
And I like to think that somewhere in heaven, Brock and Lance are friends. 💛