Leaving

To pack up one's family for 3 (or more) years to head overseas, leaving a place you've been for a decade is quite the emotional process.  It's tough to know "how" to say goodbye to people.  Do I act like "Oh I'll see just see you soon"?  Or is it "I may never see you again"?  Or "Wow, we've shared a lot of life together"? Or... or... or...

Some farewells were more tearful than others.  Some we just pretended it was another day.   Some we didn't get to do at all.

We were blessed to be able to get to see almost everyone "one last time" over the course of July and August.  Our travels took us to Louisiana (above) to Tennessee and to as far as Columbia, Missouri to see all our our family members. Friends threw us get-togethers in Thomasville, at church, and even two in Atlanta the weekend we were leaving.  And we even got to eat our last meal in T-ville at our favorite place with some of our favorite people.



God has used this process to reveal to me how gracious he has been in our lives.  We have been blessed with countless dear friends and family members, about whom there isn't enough room on this blog to write about.  It's been humbling to hear from these folks how much they love us, appreciate us, and will miss us.  It's almost kinda shocking, actually.

It's a great picture of what the body of Christ is about.  He has showered his unconditional love and grace upon us, welcomed us in, and made us a part.  We don't deserve it, we can only be amazed at what we've received and live in thankfulness out of it.  In a similar way, we don't deserve the family and friends we've received, but as we go forward - even though we may not get to see them as often - we know we are a part of their lives and are thankful for them.