Blessings

     Last week, my family and I went to Michigan for a reunion with friends my mom has known for 30 years, ever since they all served with Mennonite Central Committee in eastern Kentucky. A group of about 15 young adults, some single, some married has grown to nearly 50 with marriages, kids, kids getting married, and kids having kids. It's a remarkable group of people, who, despite having scattered across the US still make an effort to stay connected and remain a part of each other's lives. I grew up with them, spending one week of summer with them a year; in many ways, they are my crazy extended family. Our weeks are filled with friendly but serious competition, games, laughter, hikes, pancakes, story-telling, worship, and fellowship. As I started telling various people about my plans, I received overwhelmingly positive responses; promises for prayers, hopes for blessings, and encouragement to seize my chance at a new life. This is a very well traveled group: several of the children were adopted from Russia and Ethiopia, and individuals have been on mission trips all over the world. I'm so happy I get to add my name to that list.
     The thing I love most about this group of people -and believe me, that is a long list- is how we all manage to stay connected even when we only see each other once a year. As my departure date looms nearer (only two weeks!) it's reassuring that I can count on them to keep me in their thoughts. I don't mean to say that my other groups of friends are going to completely forget about me, because I'm certain that's not the case. But my relationship with my friends from Minneapolis, and my immediate family will be changing so much more drastically than will my relationship with my Kentucky family. For all I know, I may be able to come home for vacation next summer, and no one would ever know the difference, because that's all I see of them anyway. I don't think I'm making much sense. It's like missing a blanket you've had since you were a baby which slept in your bed every night and missing a toy you got for your 6th birthday and only played with occasionally. Knowing that the toys will be thinking about and praying for me reassured me that the blankets would be too. Maybe I'm crazy, but last week I was able to talk with more confidence than ever about the adventure I'm embarking on. So if any of you ever see this, and you know who you are, thank you so much for your love, your prayers, and your blessings. They mean so much more to me than you could ever know.