Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It really is hard to believe that it has been ten years since the y2k dilemma, and even more so, that another year has past. The one thing however that truly hit me over this Christmas Season was how much I truly missed seeing and being around our Special Friends. That is because Christmas and New Years landed on a Friday Night, we didn't meet. And then because the church office was closed between Christmas and New Years, our Tuesday Night group didn't meet either. The nail that then drove it really in, was that because I had a wedding to attend in Vegas on the Sunday after Christmas, I missed the Sunday Morning Study as well. Now, the volunteer team we have is amazing and everything last Sunday was covered. I also did have the chance to visit another church, but really, when I consider that there is no place like home, being away from my church family at Crossroads and away from our Special Friends within the ministry, my heart ached and longed for when I would return. I think it was about Tuesday or Wednesday then when I really began counting down the days until I would see them. Two weeks doesn't seem to be that long of a time span until you realize just how important the people and the relationships that God has truly allowed you to have are. I am blessed beyond measure within the ministry and am so thankful that today was the day that I was able to be back home and around these wonderful people. My only longing now, is to see all the beautiful faces on Tuesday Night and then on Friday Night. A vacation is sometimes nice and necessary, but being connected is really what keeps me grounded and keeps me going. And so in this time away, experiencing the absence of all of our participants has truly caused my heart to grow even fonder and miss everything about who they are . . . their innocence, their smiles, and the amount of unconditional love that they each have and unconditionally share with those around them-:))