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July 30, 2006
Where Everybody Knows My Name
It's a terribly easy thing to romanticize the past. I have missed Central Pennsylvania so much, and am remembering the sweetness of Christian fellowship I experienced while I lived here.
My weekly Bible Study. An elder and his wife host it, the elder teaches, and the atmosphere of sharing prayer requests, praying together, and studying scripture together has not changed. The fellowship and brotherly love is still there, and I delighted to be included again, just for an evening.
My friends Mark and Holly. Mark was one of my colleagues and I ended up having dinner at their place once a week and watching TV with Holly while Mark did Something Else (never did know what that was...renovating or something). Anyway, Holly and I watched Survivor together every week. They were good friends and it's been just lovely to have spent time with them again this week.
My church here. They meet in a different place now, but it's the same church and the heart of passionate love for the Savior and for his Body are still there, and people were truly delighted to see me again. It's nice to be remembered and welcomed!
But I was saying that I can romanticize much too easily. My school year was terribly hard here. It's a good school but like all schools has its foibles and blind spots. The weather got me down (though locals said it was an unusually bright winter). And traveling to see the Dude was very wearing--though it was also tough to love him so much and live so far away from him.
The pressure got so high that I had panic attacks. Sometimes once a day. Certainly on Sunday nights when it was time to leave my 'date weekend' with the Dude and head back home. It was tough, and the Lord has been good to me.
Here's a thought. Possibly it's cliche and cheaply touching. But I still think it's a good thought.
It's when the nights are darkest that we can see the welcoming home light all the more clearly.
And that's what those fellowship groups were to me: welcoming home lights. Praise God for them.
Here's a Postcard! | By The Newest Worker | 06:11 PM
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