places and faces

the winds of change are blustering once again. today I stand on the borderline: reaping and reminiscing the end of this season, while looking upon the vast horizon of the next. one sun sets, the other one rises; each with their own exquisite beauty. but here I stand in the middle of the dusk and the dawn.

i’ve learned that places are just places. it’s the people that make them come alive. you could go see the seven wonders of the world, but the person standing next to you that you get to share your wonder and awe with, they enhance that experience.  you could be sitting in a junkyard, but if you enjoy the company of your companion next to you, you think that junkyard isn’t so junky.

working in an office, behind a desk, dealing with numbers has been my place for the past 6 months. not exactly the place i would have put myself. but the family i have made here, they are what makes letting go so hard. humans are sick, nasty, gross, sinful. but oh the beauty of the redeemed soul! oh how i celebrate the uniqueness of the individual, especially their little quirks that make them, them.  they have changed the daily grind into something spectacular. they’ve opened my heart and mind to a whole new world. they’ve given me yet another example of the body of Christ, each person with their own expertise, their own place, their own job in the body that only THEY can do..none elevated above the other, each desperately needed to make the body move.  together we have fought the lie that the mundane things aren’t spectacular, but have just as much potential for God’s glory. memories flood. laughs. tears. frustration. rejoicing. mourning. memories. although i’ll leave this place today and not be here tomorrow, nobody can take yesterday.

bittersweet the taste on my tongue. it's hard to leave the family here. “you’ll make family wherever you go..” he said, trying to ease the bitter. although this is true, it doesn't make it easier.

did i leave something behind that said "i was here?" is it selfish to want that? to know you made a mark? and even if i did, it was not me, but He (but sometimes that's hard to believe). is it wrong to want to be missed? they've left a mark, they will be missed by me.

there are no goodbyes in Christ. the beautiful thing about family is family is always family. and when it comes to the family of God, you're sealed for eternity. you can’t be unborn into family. so, in the end, your family never really changes, it only gets bigger, with different branches on your family tree. i’m carrying them all with me.

places are just spaces, life is about faces.

those won't be the last time i find myself changing places, moving spaces, about to be born into something new. but there is one thing i know to be true. there will be a day when i will arrive at an eternal place, i’ll end my journey Home. it is sure to be a wondrous place, the Greatest Place, a Holy Place. but the thing that will make Heaven, Heaven is that I will gaze upon His face.