Memories...

I missed posting last week because I was working at one of our Western PA Conference camps - Jumonville. Jumonville is in Hopwood - about 2 miles southeast of Uniontown in Fayette County. Jumonville is like a second home for our family - Steve and I have spent at least 1 week there every year for the past 24 years. We raised our children going to Jumonville. Our son Craig spent 3 summers as Program Staff there and now deans a camp every year. Our daughter has spent several weeks every year volunteering as a counselor for various camps at Jumonville. Jumonville is a special place for us.

We were at Jumonville last week for Creative Arts Thing Camp - C.A.T. Camp for short. We started going to CAT Camp at Jumonville in 1991 as a family vacation. Now Steve is in charge of child care and Ellen and I teach classes. And after 16 years at CAT Camp we've made some very special friends, friends that we only see once a year.

Every year at camp we have some campers who get homesick - usually the elementary campers and most of the homesickness passes by Tuesday or Wednesday. But this year there was an older camper who ended up homesick at the end of the week - me!

This year on our way home from camp we were able to meet our son Craig & his fiancee for lunch in Irwin, PA. Now, Irwin is where we lived for 20 years and where we raised our children. We've not been in Irwin for probably 3 years. It was odd to be in such a familiar place and feel so out of place, having not been a part of the community now for over 5 years. It really surprised me to have such an emotional reaction of homesickness.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We have a lot of changes going on in our family this year - a new church, new home, new community, a new family member to be added in September (our son's fiancee), and Steve has a momentous birthday next month (the big 5-0) and I'm not far behind him! Changes like these cause you to reminisce and realize the brevity of life. The older I get the faster time seems to go.

It makes me think of the preacher in Ecclesiastes who writes: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." And then the author spells out all the seasons of life -- birth-death, war-peace, planting-reaping, killing-healing, destroying-constructing, loving-hating, crying-laughing, letting go-holding on. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

It's the last one that's sometimes the hardest -- knowing when to let go and when to hold on. Holding on to memories is good, but holding out for things to always remain the same in this life will bring us heartache and disappointment every time. We need God's wisdom to know when to let go of what used to be, in order to embrace the infinite possibilities God has in store for us through the next stage of life God has in store for us.

Make no mistake, we are very glad to be in Erie! However, there are things that tug at our heart from "home." It's the wisdom to know that while the memories are wonderful to hold on to, we've moved on to this season of lives.

We all go through various seasons of life. As we move from one season to another, most of the time we will have a sense of mixed emotions - joy at what's new and sorrow at what's lost. The key is to give God ALL of our days, trusting that God will make the most of them if we allow him to.

James writes: "Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." Sounds a bit depressing - and this truth of life can cause us to become either fearful or inactive. But the uncertainty of life is not cause for sadness - it's a reason for realizing how completely we depend on God. The way of Christ is not to be terrorized into fear or paralyzed into inaction by the uncertainty of our future. The way of Christ means that we commit our future and all our plans into the hands of God, and then allow God to order our days so that they are in keeping with God's will.

And so, we venture forward, holding on to the memories and fondness of our past, ready to embrace the wonderful future God has in store for us, all the while savoring every moment of every day in our present lives, giving all glory and honor to God!

By God's Grace,
Michelle