January 19th, 2004: I was sitting in the Leawood Presbyterian Church, waiting for the ceremony to begin, musing on how many milestones had already been set in this church: 1961: Louise and I were married, 1963: Our firstborn Scott was baptized, 1964: then Craig, 1965: then Steven, 1968: then Tricia, 1969: then Brian, 1990: Steven was married. Fast forward to the present. Louise's mom had died at 99. Today her funeral service is being held in this same place, where she had been Choir Director for over 30 years. The minister has not yet come into the pulpit, and I idly pick up the bible behind the pew in front of me. Opening the front cover, I am stunned to read the boldly stamped message: IN MEMORY OF SCOTT ROBERT MARTIN There must be 200 bibles in the pew racks of that church. Later I looked inside a dozen or so others at random. All had "In Memory Of..." various persons stamped inside. Was the bible with Scott's name in it the only one? Or were there five, ten, more like it scattered among the pews? Statisticians would argue the probabilities, and skeptics would say it was just a coincidence. But it was surely more than chance that made me look in that one bible that just 'happened' to be the one right in front of me. In my heart I know that Scott's spirit was present in that sacred place, and that in this gentle way Scott wanted me to know he was with all of us once again, to say 'Goodbye' - more likely 'Hello' - to his beloved Grandma. EOF