"Here is Where the Road Divides"

"Here is where the road divides, here is where we realize
The sculpting of the Father's great design
Through time you've been a friend to me
But time is now the enemy, I wish we didn't have to say goodbye..."

Last Sunday at around 3 PM, I was taking my last glance back at the waving figures diminishing behind us. Brandon beeped the horn, I turned away and Pleasant Hill Outdoor Center disappeared behind us, once again hidden from view by the trees. Many people have been expressing similar sentiments since then, and like them, I felt happy, excited, invigorated in a way, and that inexplicable buzz of joy was ringing in my ears. The melancholy of parting actually didn't hit me until later, in the form of, as Brandon called it, 'denial'. The utter joy that I, and I am assured we all, experienced during the Ohio Winter Rendezvous, is still lingering in my heart, and no doubt will linger for a very VERY long time.

"Painted on our tapestry, we see the way it has to be
Weaving through the laughter and the tears
But love will be the tie that binds us to the time we leave behind us
Memories will be our souvenirs..."

On the way home from class Friday morning, Brandon and I were listening to a Michael W. Smith cd, and when we stopped at a gas station, I turned the music back on while Brandon was pumping the gas. Pray For Me came on, and I sat silent, listening to my feelings, really. The song summed up my emotions on the breaking up at the Rendezvous perfectly! It was beautiful.
As I listen to the song again and again, however, and try to cling to the recorded pieces of the Rendezvous and the people I met there, (the amount of time I'm spending on Facebook looking at pictures, commenting on pictures, etc.,) I'm struck by the debilitating effect doing so can have on my daily life.

"And I know that through it all
The hardest part of love is letting go
But there's a greater love that holds us..."

In November after returning from Virginia, I experienced the same type of slump, and it required some real talking to God to get me out of that. Oh, how terrible are happy times ended! And yet, all things, no matter how good, must come to an end...only one remains. The unfailing love of God.

I believe God has blessed me abundantly by introducing me to all of those who attended the Rendezvous, and I have no regrets about the time I spent there, but I am realizing I need to let go of the event and move on. When flowing streams converge, they should not stop and stay, or they grow stagnant. All of our lives that touched at the Rendezvous are now tied together in the Love of Christ, and I need to take peace and joy from that, let my stream continue flowing in the paths God has laid out for me, and trust that my stream will continue flowing parallel with all my friends.

"Pray for me and I'll pray for you
Pray that we will keep the common ground
Won't you pray for me and I'll pray for you
And one day Love will bring us back around."

The road splits and goes on, but if we are in Christ, we can never really be separated.
God bless you as He leads you on your journey with Him!