One of the hardest things about living where I live is that we are having to learn to be very good at saying, “Good-bye,” to dear friends. This town is surrounded by 3 military bases, so the majority of the people we interact with are here three or four years before they either get out of the military or are transferred – both of which usually mean they leave town, because we know very few people who actually choose to live here! D and I were talking yesterday about how if these military bases are ever closed, this town will absolutely shrivel up and die. There is a historic downtown, and it’s pretty here, but not enough for a tourist draw alone. The military is basically the backbone of this town’s economy and the reason for much of the tourism.
Last night we had dinner with some friends who are leaving for San Antonio today. I managed not to cry last night, but I am crying as I type this. Ya’ll, I’m going to miss this young couple! They are the last of that original group of young couples who were part of the Sunday School class that D took over a couple of years ago. They are part of that first group that we had over for Thanksgiving that year since none of us had family in the area. We do have one couple left, but they came in later, so with Shanna and Alan moving, it feels like a bittersweet ending of sorts.
While I am so happy for them, because they are happy to be leaving this town and moving closer to their families and to a place where they can actually afford to buy a house and not be hampered by the way-out-of-whack housing market we have here (this town thinks quite highly of itself, I tell you), I am so sad for those of us who are left behind. It was neat to watch that group of friends bond; they were all in that newly-wed, just starting to have kids stage together, and they formed friendships that will withstand the separation of living in different states. They already go back and forth visiting each other. And I’m glad we got to share their friendship as well, though we didn’t have quite the bond with them that they had with each other since they kind of tended to view us as older mentors or something, but I’m so glad we got to know that whole group of people for the short time they were with us.
Shanna and I taught VBS together one summer and she cried with us when we experienced the two miscarriages that happened while we lived here. And Alan bonded with and wrestled with my boys and just all around acted like a guy with them while D was away in Iraq and they needed that extra male influence. They rejoiced with us when we shared that we were expecting little Boo. And we got to turn around and rejoice with them when they learned soon after that they were expecting their first child. Shanna provided some meals when Boo was born, and we got to do the same for them when their little girl was born last December. We’ve so enjoyed getting to know them and be friends with them during the three years we’ve all been in this town.
So, last night we found ourselves driving an hour to the town that actually is a real tourist spot in our county (and therefore doesn’t need the military bases to be something in its own right) to meet the other couple that is now left alone with us in our Sunday School class and Shanna and Alan at the restaurant they chose so they could have good crab legs one more time before they leave for Texas. I know I’m sad that they are leaving, but I also know that the other young couple, C. and S., will miss Shanna and Alan even more than we will. They have a real bond in age and stage of life, and I know C. is crying today, too. I also know that S. is keeping his eyes open for a job somewhere (anywhere) else than here, so I have a feeling we’ll be saying good-bye to them before all too long as well. I agree with what D said last night that for Christian friends, good-bye isn’t truly good-bye for we are brothers and sisters in Christ, after all, but I also think one difficult aspect of the Fall is that we do have to say good-bye in this life – through moves and through death, and that we do have those separations from people we grow to love. But, now we also know we have friends in San Antonio next time D has to go there for Army training. Maybe I’ll just go with him next time and visit!
As we wish our friends well in the next phase of their life, and, really, this is a good move for them, we get to turn our attention to some exciting things happening at our local church here, as well. Though our original class has dwindled, this coming Sunday we are starting a new class with a teacher who is going to present a course on Genesis through Revelation, kind of an apologetics class. We are very excited about what he’ll be teaching. And there are quite a few people interested in joining with us – including some of the youth and their parents, so this is exciting for our church. The pastor also is beginning a sermon series that is going to be pretty hard-hitting and Gospel-centered, educating the people that just because they may have walked an aisle in the past doesn't necessarily mean they've been saved. Basically he'll be dealing with the idea of examining ourselves to be sure we're in the faith. This will be revolutionary in this congregation, and I'd appreciate prayers for our church! We’re excited about this as well. So, while we are grieving an ending, we are also looking ahead to some new beginnings as well.
Such is life, isn’t it?
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