It Is Well With My Soul

Four months ago today my family and I loaded into the rental car and left our Michigan home. It is sad because the clarity of my recollection of all-things-St.-Joe is slipping. The things I knew -my friends, church,and home, as well as places we went and things we did- are not as fresh in my mind as they were just a few months ago. I miss it all! I miss the deepness of friendship and the routine of our life (but maybe not the snow).

Life has continued in St. Joe without us, as life tends to do. It is depressing in some ways. I was looking forward to many things. The church has opened up the new worship center and life within the church has changed, and we are not there. Our neighbor got married this summer and I was looking forward to getting to know his new wife. The main floor bathroom was completed in our house just before we moved and now the new tenants will get to enjoy it, but not I.

It's funny how life can move on in one place but seem to stand still in another. I hear of outings, happenings and gatherings and I can see it all in my mind as if I were there. I know I am not forgotten by friends I've left behind, but it sure is lonely here without new friends to share daily life with. If only Michigan wasn't so far away. Funny, I thought that same thing when we moved there, and my thoughts haven't changed. So, St. Joe is moving on and I feel like I am standing still as I wait for things to move forward.

I long to make connections here and I remind myself that the Lord will provide friends in his time. He knows my need and will bring them in the fullness of time. Those thoughts are reassuring to me, but I continue to battle impatience all the same. I am slowly meeting new people so I know that friendships are begining. *sigh* It's just not something that comes easily for me, never has.

So, here I sit, thinking of my St. Joe friends and my once-upon-a-time St. Joe life. And I thank the Lord for his blessings of good friends near and far and for his loving guidence that has brought us to our new home. In my mind right now is an old hymn written by Horatio Spafford called 'It Is Well With My Soul". Spafford wrote this song as he was crossing the Atlantic after his four daughters died on thier own ship crossing just a few months prior. He was able to be at peace while experiencing deep loss. And although my loss is nothing compared to Spafford's, this is how I feel now....contentment admist the tumultuous journey.

"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strenth." Philipians 4:11-13