We live in a very mobile society. This is an era when many people go away to school and often end up moving to completely oppposite ends of the country. Many thousands of college students don't even bat an eye when their job offers take them to distant locales.
On the other hand are communities such as ours. Lanesville is a town in which many students decide not to leave for college, and look for employment close to home. And yet, you don't even have to be in a small town. I have friends and family members in Peoria that never ventured beyond their hometown for schooling or career opportunities.
Two uncles on my mom's side of the family moved an hour from home. One uncle on my dad's side now lives in Florida. Other than that, everyone else is still there. We are the second furthest from the family. (It took my sister years to forgive us for moving so far away.)
While there have been many joys over the years of being in Chicago and later in southern Indiana, there are also frustrations. Special occasions, holidays, and awards often are not shared because of the distance or other commitments.
In the end, I guess it can often be chalked up to a sacrifice of living in the ministry. Still, it doesn't make it easier when feeling isolated.
2 comments:
It doesn't make it easier. And yet there is something joyfully true for us about our Lord's words: "no one who has left...who will not receive mothers and brothers and sisters and lands..." I left my mom in the late stages of Alzheimers to take the call to St. Paul's - half a country away. I couldn't even get through that children's book "I'll Love You Forever" when I read it to my kids. It slew me. But here at St. Paul's, God gave me "mothers" too - and sisters and brothers. Oh, I've lost many of them now, but there are still an abundance. They're my family too, and when the ache for my blood family presses hard (always around the holidays for me), I remember these saints and thank God that Jesus' words are true. And the ache becomes bearable again.
Oh, I know the blessing of dear saints who become additional family. The Lord has blessed us greatly with a few such souls, both in Chicago, and here.
Of course, this little screen has made this easier too. Friends from college, sem, societies [grin], and others across the country can build each other up.
Thanks for your kind thoughts and words of comfort. :-)
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