the recent visit from some old friends made a belief I try to hold onto more viable, trustworthy and fruitful. we move a lot. true i moved many times as a child but i think even more so as an adult and wife of ken. ken is a visionary and he is bold and daring, courageous. i guess i must have some of those qualities as well or I would not be still at his side. still he is more so then i and his adventures sometimes push me to the brink of myself. but ken is not what I am planning to talk about here though there would be much to say on the subject. what I want to talk about is moving and friendship. the one seems to hinder the other, moving that is hinders building good friendships. this is true enough but it is not complete. we lived in PA for one year and we made some good friends in that time and I imagine not many will be fruitful because we were not there long enough for the roots of friendship to dig deep. there were some friendships in PA that grew because we had more time together but they were already established relationships.
i don’t want you to get the idea that it is my husband who is moving us around. while in college both ken and I gave our lives over to God to be used for his purposes. it is that one decision that keeps us moving, following where we believe He is leading us. our lives are not our own we remember. we are not conventional missionaries-though at one time we were on staff with a Christian ministry and ken has pastored a couple of times now. we have seen God do his God thing many times and are often growing in deeper awe of Him and his ways. he is a good God. i could talk a ton on that as well but then that is not what i am planning on saying here either.
the belief is that it is good to have several good friends around the country/world. you know that loved one you miss and look forward to being reunited with in the land beyond this one? moving a lot breaks your heart. you miss people so bad sometimes you are certain you made a mistake in moving. so do you continue to make good friends at the next stop? what if you are just going to move again? this is something everyone who has moved questions. it is tempting to not love again because your heart will just be crushed again. it is also the belief that there really is something better after this life and we will gain what we choose to give up in the next life. we don't have to hold on to our lives. in fact those of us who do will loose his life in the end.
if there really is an eternity waiting for us. if this life on earth is just temporary and not the main point then i will have eternity to be with my friends and family. and just think of all the reunions i will have. heart full reunions because i loved and was loved. not just a good to see you again kind of greeting but a full embrace, long and strong, reaching down to the core of me. this is the belief i sometime have to struggle to hold onto and it is the one that encourages me to love and be loved right where I am, even if one day we may move again. being reunited here on earth with old friends from over 12 years ago delighted my soul and gave me the faith to believe it is all worth it. at least for the time being.
