A Hard Goodbye

Today was an especially hard day for me. Tonight I said goodbye to my brother Adam and his family. It was so hard because they are headed back to Iowa and won't be back until Christmas. Usually this wouldn't be so hard but we don't know where we will be by Christmas time. We could still be here but we will most likely be in Arizona and there is little hope that we will be able to come back home just one month after moving. It is so hard not knowing where you will be taking your family. I never imagined that my kids would not play with their cousins often. I guess I just always thought we would be close to our family and everyone that we loved. I never figured that the Lord would have different plans for us. I guess that is the definition of faith. Going wherever the Lord wants you to go without knowing exactly why you are going. It is all about experience. One of the best quotes I have ever heard says "experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." We don't necessarily want to leave our family and friends but there is an experience out there that the Lord wants us to have. If Matt finds a job in Utah we are still going to move closer to wherever that job may be. If Matt does not find a job here then we will go wherever the Lord wants us to go. Either way there is an experience that the Lord has waiting for us. Perhaps it is merely the experience of moving out of our comfort zone. It seems that every time we get comfortable, things are forced to change. It is the way we are forced to grow. It sure is hard though to say goodbye to family when you don't know how or when you will see them next.