On Family...

 Though I have seen the oceans and mountains, though I have read great books and seen great works of art...there is nothing greater or more beautiful than those people I love. --Christopher de Vinch

Truman life is in full swing; I have not acquired additional time to write because of that (just lost some).  It's alright though.  More than alright, it's great: great to be back.

It's ironic and fitting that this post be on 'family,' because while I could have drafted it at home while enjoying the sweet reunion with my immediate mom, dad, and two brothers, I really couldn't give an honest picture of what 'family reunion' looks like until I got back to Truman.  Reality is, I have a family here, too, a really precious one.  The believing people who also go to school in Kirksville happen to be my best friends, people who are irreplaceable and incredibly deep and challenging.

They left a hole in my life where encouragement, accountability, prayer support, godly example, and good teaching usually are when I live life at Truman.  In France, I had good friends, friends that are very dear to me as well....but I never quite found the community I was looking for, that one we all desperately need as people walking this narrow, joyous road called following Jesus.  I know the 'walk' was meant to be taken together; I am sure of it and I find it in Christ's example.  But I never anticipated that my friends from home would be able to draw alongside me, to some figurative extent, even as I separated myself by thousands of miles.

The short of what I learned in France concerning family is this: I need family.  They are irreplaceable because of who God made them to be as unique individuals (and uniquely capable of ministering to me).  When I speak of family, I certainly mean Mom, Dad, Austin, and Spencer: I missed them more than I anticipated and I hope to not go that long again without seeing them.  I love being able to call my parents whenever I want now and text my brothers more than I should now.  And when I speak of family, I also mean my community in Kirksville.

Thinking back to my bedroom in Rabot, I think most fondly of one specific area: what I knew as my 'wall of love.'  It was comprised of mere loose-leaf paper, cards, drawings, and photos, but those mementos held me up throughout this semester.  My wall displayed all the many ways that individuals supported me from such a far distance.  It was amazing to slowly see that the treasured people in my life from home weren't going anywhere; THEY were the ones that were going to provide me with a sense of belonging and a fountain of encouragement, even from such a distance.

It was the Body of Christ is action, the Body that conquers distance and draws hearts together because of the One we love and adore!

For all who wrote to me, you just have to know how much I learned through you-- and for that, I appreciate you so much more than ever.  This morning in church was a sweet time to add my voice to a group of people who were singing--and I know had been singing even while I was gone--a song of praise to the Lord.  

Distance has made the heart grow fonder. :-)

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother (and sisters), have refreshed the hearts of the saints.  Philemon 1:7