I wonder how I will remember this weekend. New friends and old are changing paths. One headed off to meet the grandparents of his unborn child. Another headed off to back to a new job, knowing that everything is in place for his family to move. Others faced the relationships that are ending while new chapters begin. Everywhere I looked, forks in the road were being navigated.
As I tried to understand the changes, I was struck by the fact that for me each was a parting as well as a greeting. In each case, life is taking those involved somewhere they have not been before. I find myself playing each of the characters from an old story from one writer’s notes. “We all kneeled together on the beach and prayed. Then, after another round of saying good-bye, we climbed on board the ship while they drifted back to their homes.” (Acts 21.6) I am not sure what it all means. I do not know that anyone involved in something like this fully understands the situation.. Life’s complexity can be painful.
I do know that I am taking the following lessons with me.
Life is defined by our relationships. Long or short, changing or constant, it our relationships become the memories that make up our life.
Life is always about change. Even when we think things have stopped, they never do. Time, thinking, and experience moves our way of seeing things to new places.
Whatever has been or will be is never as important as right now. Because it is here that we learn from the past, shape the future, and potential make a difference.
As dark, murky, and uncertain as this moment is, a dawn will come.
Opportunities are always here, even when I cannot see them. You and I can make a difference, even when we are overwhelmed.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring, for anyone. I do know that we will face more forks while struggling to come to terms with today. We hold unique opportunities to see the world.
