Thoughts of back home

1 Thessalonians 2:17 "But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while--in person, not in spirit--were all the more eager with great desire to see your face."

What do you do when you are a thousand miles away and one of your closest friends is going through what is probably the hardest time of his life? As hard as it was leaving family and friends to come down here I feel it is harder still when something like this happens and my first reaction is a desire to be able to run over to his house so that I can be there for him. I have been blessed so far with the opportunity to make it back home for the special occasions - Laura and Will's graduations - but now something sudden happened. I think I'm truly learning what Paul was feeling when he wrote about missing the Thessalonians.

But there is encouragement, as Paul said, we may be far away in person, but please know that ya'll are not far from us in Spirit. We miss you guys and constantly pray for you guys. It is awesome to be able to still connect with the father to bring our concerns before him. You will never be far from us in spirit. We are praying that God will comfort all involved in this situation. Because in the end, although we can help, it is truly God who is "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" (2 Cor 1:3) And there is more, despite that I cannot be there for this friend, it is encouraging to have talked with some other close friends who I know are gathering around him to support him. What a blessing it is to be able to see God use others to do what I am not able to do myself.

To add to that, cell phones, texting, skype, and other things help to bring us a just a little closer to home. Looking back at the title, I find it funny because I am sitting on the couch typing this in my house. Yet, I think that we still consider our home to be in Michigan and we want you all to know that we carry you in our hearts...sharing both your joys and your sorrows. I have to thank God that he has given us this time of transition - moving a short distance away before we move far away - it has been a blessing to help us adjust.