What happens in May
May in my neighborhood is beginning to not be my favorite. Even though I drink in the sights, sounds, smells of the dewy mornings, the lush greens, the honey suckle blooms, the morning songs of the birds from my open windows and the perfect sailing days - May is a bitter-sweet month.
You see, a good part of my circle of friends attend CIU, a wonderful college, seminary and graduate school. I live less than a mile away, and a lot of my ties somehow connect there. It is a rich community of people who are moving, growing, intensely in love, with Jesus. It truly is a unique environment - like living in a human greenhouse - you receive rich teaching, rich fellowship, and intense transformation. It is kind of a shock when you leave such a protected bubble and enter the real world. It is a great place to build a solid foundation.
When May rolls around though - celebration brings cheers and tears of accomplishment and good-byes. Goodbyes really stink. This is my third year living here, and it doesn't get any easier. I am so thrilled for my friends who cross the finish line, completing an amazing program of study, rightly rewarded for their hard studies. Yet it is hard to ignore a knot that begins to form in my throat over the fact that they are moving away, into a new reality, onward and upward.
This year, two of my dearest friends both wore the cap and gown, moved the tassel from one side to the other, and shook the hand of the CIU President as they walked across the stage of the packed auditorium. My friends, Tracy and Jamison, both finished their courses here.
Over many, many meals, excursions to the grocery, playing with dogs and cats, prayer times, hours of good, diverse conversations (what was that about...? ;-0 I can't believe some of the topics we covered!!! I am completely educated on... many sundry topics - that's what girlfriends are for!) and side splitting laughter, God has met me through these two precious gems. He has made my life richer, my heart stronger, through this friendship: for this season together, my heart is full of thanks. I have been truly blessed by these two amazing women - they have been gifts from the Lord, beyond words. Life will take us in different directions, into new seasons: unknown opportunities will meet us and He will continue to transform us. My prayer as we move onward is that we will grow ever closer to the One who always invites us into deeper intimacy and Light: Jesus Christ - our One and Only Unchanging, ever-Living Love.
“Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Romans 15:5-6
You see, a good part of my circle of friends attend CIU, a wonderful college, seminary and graduate school. I live less than a mile away, and a lot of my ties somehow connect there. It is a rich community of people who are moving, growing, intensely in love, with Jesus. It truly is a unique environment - like living in a human greenhouse - you receive rich teaching, rich fellowship, and intense transformation. It is kind of a shock when you leave such a protected bubble and enter the real world. It is a great place to build a solid foundation.
When May rolls around though - celebration brings cheers and tears of accomplishment and good-byes. Goodbyes really stink. This is my third year living here, and it doesn't get any easier. I am so thrilled for my friends who cross the finish line, completing an amazing program of study, rightly rewarded for their hard studies. Yet it is hard to ignore a knot that begins to form in my throat over the fact that they are moving away, into a new reality, onward and upward.
This year, two of my dearest friends both wore the cap and gown, moved the tassel from one side to the other, and shook the hand of the CIU President as they walked across the stage of the packed auditorium. My friends, Tracy and Jamison, both finished their courses here.
Over many, many meals, excursions to the grocery, playing with dogs and cats, prayer times, hours of good, diverse conversations (what was that about...? ;-0 I can't believe some of the topics we covered!!! I am completely educated on... many sundry topics - that's what girlfriends are for!) and side splitting laughter, God has met me through these two precious gems. He has made my life richer, my heart stronger, through this friendship: for this season together, my heart is full of thanks. I have been truly blessed by these two amazing women - they have been gifts from the Lord, beyond words. Life will take us in different directions, into new seasons: unknown opportunities will meet us and He will continue to transform us. My prayer as we move onward is that we will grow ever closer to the One who always invites us into deeper intimacy and Light: Jesus Christ - our One and Only Unchanging, ever-Living Love.
“Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Romans 15:5-6
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