This benediction begins with Isaiah 41, “Do not be afraid, for I am with with you…” and continues with words of tremendous love and promise. With the entrance of the Matthew text, “Behold, I am with you always…” the mood shifts from uplifting to mysterious as it is sometimes difficult to sense God’s presence in our everyday lives. The basses here represent the everlasting love of God. The words below from Dione and the texts from Isaiah and Matthew served as the inspiration for this piece
From Dione Peterson Belling, June 17, 2016
Today I lost a childhood friend, the one I played hide and seek with, the one I giggled and laughed with, the one I shared secrets with, and the one I tried to learn to play softball with! As we got older our lives became more involved with music, school, and love.
She fell in love with a handsome young medical student her brother brought home from college. They married shortly after her high school graduation. They moved away to Georgia where she became the faithful wife and wonderful mother of two children and she shared her music with piano students. I lost myself in my music.
I remember seeing her parents from time to time and inquired about her. They were always proud to fill me in on her latest happenings and that of her lovely family.
Many years passed but I would usually get a letter and a picture in the Christmas season updating me on her life. It always seemed that they were having beautiful warm weather and we were freezing up north. Then her health, my career, and my caregiving duties seemed to separate us for a time.
One day after I had left my life in Sioux Falls and was teaching in Faribault I received a Facebook message from her. Facebook was new and we were pretty excited to find each other! From then on we kept in contact with Ralph responding at times when she was too ill to do so. Little did I know that this reconnection would bring me the greatest gift I could ever imagine! Our Facebook connection would eventually lead me to her brother…the one I once told her I had a middle school crush on! Lyle and I quickly realized our lives had similarities, having both experienced care giving and the loss of a loved one. I will always remember her squeals of delight when she learned we planned to marry.
Last New Years Eve Donna and Ralph signed the papers that joined Lyle and me in marriage. After all these years Donna was still making me laugh and make beautiful memories. I don’t think either of us learned to play softball. But we sure enjoyed talking about “remember when?” Now after all these years of illnesses and pain, I pray she rests in peace. She will live on in the lives of her children, her adoring husband, and all of us who loved her.
Lyle and I will miss the late evening phone calls that lasted for hours and had all of us laughing so hard I sometimes choked or cried. Life will be different, but Donna Belling Kolbeck is not gone from our lives….only her little fragile body.
May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus…
