A Month of a Week
It is hard to believe that only a week has passed since we drove the truck away from Charlottesville and unloaded it in Philadelphia. The past week has been full of more experiences, emotions and tasks than should be legal.
Saying goodbye as we loaded the truck in a deluge of rain was perhaps fitting. My tears seemed to rival the raindrops. We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of help and love. Those last hugs, deep gazes into eyes that held within a moment the shared experiences of years, and smiles of babies and children will stay with me a long, long time (Gideon, how did you get to be so big? Laurel, your eyes are so deep! Gwynnie and Cece, what ladies of grace and style you are! Lianna, why did you have to move away? Hermione, you are so sweet. Emma, I could just eat you up….. remember when we were still praying for children in our Family Group?? My, how those prayers were answered!). As we drove away early the next morning I found myself questioning what in the world I was doing. How could I be leaving these amazing people? Was I crazy?
I think of that old song We are One in the Spirit.
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity may one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love…
I used to sing that as a plea for harmony and lack of discord within the Body of Christ. No, for me now the words seem to be more appropriately sung as a testament to my spiritual family whom I have left and who I long to be with again someday. Even though we are far apart, we really ARE one in the Spirit. And I pray our unity (physically) may be restored. Hopefully, we will raise our voices together in worship here on earth again, but if not, we will be united at a larger worship service. But no matter what, the bonds of love that we share will be a witness to the world of the Lord’s impact on our lives…and mark us as Christians.