Separation Propriety

A friend of mine effectively left town tonight. I say effectively because he doesn't actually leave until Tuesday, but I am not going to see him again before then. In fact, I won't be seeing him again for....? God knows, but I don't. He is a friend who has encouraged me in ways I needed encouraging (more ways than he knows) and challenged me in ways I needed challenging.

In the past 23 years I have packed all of my belongings and moved thirteen times. Sixteen, if you count moving in and out of dorms every year. Nine of those moves involved leaving behind everyone I know, immediate family excluded. I don't necessarily regret any of the circumstances that made those moves necessary, but one thing it taught me is this: things change. Now when I enter a new situation or meet someone new, I have the inescapable knowledge that at some point, sooner or later, those people will no longer be a regular presence in my life. Students graduate and move on to real jobs, people get married, people move on to other things, or I do. That's just the way life works. I wish I could say I have learned a productive way to make the most of the time I have with them, or even that I have gotten used to it. I haven't, but I have this encouragement: that for my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am absolutely guaranteed to see them again eventually. I also know that in most cases, they leave because God is calling them elsewhere. That's really hard to argue with, or complain about.

I thank God for the people he has placed in my life, for however long he places them there. Pray for my friend as he travels. I look forward to seeing what God is going to do in and through his life.

1 Thessalonians 3:9
How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?