Goodbyes

Over the past 11 years we have lived in 5 different countries, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, United States, China, Thailand met some amazing people, made life long friends, lost some friends but through it all we have learned so much.

What I love about life is that it is always changing. Not only is my life changing but so are all the lives around me changing. It is a rare thing to have friends in your life that will be honest to speak to you about the things on their heart and speak to you trusting that you are going to call them on the carpet if you are wrong. It is rare to have friends who invest in you rather than you always investing in them. It is rare to have friends that share not just one aspect of life with but many layers of life.

Dwayne and I have had the privilege of meeting and being apart of so many peoples lives and as a result been enriched greatly by those we may have only met once, spent a week with or month with or as in the pictures spent years with. It's been hard to lose people in our life due to miscommunication or lack of honesty or because they had to move away. It's hard to realize that some of the people in your life you may not grow together but apart. However even in those cases if one choses to, it is possible to grow and be blessed from even the tough times.

As we think about another move and process what that means we say good byes yet again. Some of the friends we've made these last 2 years are friends we'll continue to grow and develop. Others we will have had some amazing times and will look back on the days we had together and smile and say, what a joy it was to have known them. Others we will leave and say, it's sad that we won't be able to continue to develop our friendship further. Still even in it all we smile and cry because it is never easy to realize we must yet start again to build new friends, develop new partnerships that may or may not be around in a year.

This is when I read Hebrews and say, Dear Lord, how much longer will we have to sojourn and wonder this world? How much longer dear Lord will we have good byes? But then I smile and turn my eyes Heaven ward and remember this place is not home in every sense of the word. Home is heaven ward and may I not forget that, may I be reminded daily to keep my eyes toward heaven and not set them on the things of this world. It's not meant for me to find comfort in this place or to feel at home and for that I'm so grateful to have realized. I feel more out of place in every place I go than I did 11 years ago.

I look forward to the next chapter of our lives...... This is one thing I know for sure and what I cling to in moments of uncertainty.

" My God, My Lord is the same today, as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow too..."