Saturday, September 09, 2006

Journey of a Thousand Miles (and thensome)

I have just recently returned from my journey of a thousand miles (and thensome). I was in Wooster (OH), Bowling Green (OH) and Rochester/Winona Lake (IN). In total my little "jeep"car contraption traveled 1400ish miles in a journey into the past.

I say that it was a journey into the past because the people that I visited were of the "long-time no-see" variety. It was a journey of reconnecting and remembering. Reconnecting with "old" friends and remembering the significance of space and places in my life.

Wooster, OH
My first stop was to visit my old college roommate, Jen (or Ben as she was called in college). Wooster was like a second home to me during my years at Grace College. I remember spending fall breaks with Jen's wonderful family, visiting her church, hanging out with her friends and enjoying the connection that Jesus makes which goes beyond bloodlines. Jen's family made me feel very welcome once more! They treated me like gold and even helped to usher in my birthday with a treated dinner, singing waiters and an ice cream cake.

I had not seen Jen since 2004 and her family sinced 2001.

Bowling Green, OH
Bowling Green was about 2 hours west of Wooster and the home of my college/church buddy, Rachel and her husdand Allan. Rachel has a medical condition called MCS (Medical Chemical Sensitivities) which practically keeps her confined to her house. We talked a lot about her condition, our families, the past and what to do about the problem of suffering. My friend has seen a lot of suffering but she has put her faith and confidence in a God who is good. My prayer for her is to become an overcomer in the midst of her suffering and to draw closer to the one who is bigger than MCS or anything we may face.

I had not seen Rachel since I was the maid of honor in her (very different and exciting) wedding in the summer of 2002.

Rochester, IN
Next I flew upon the wings of my Tracker to the beautiful cornfields of Indiana. My friends live on a pig farm out in the middle of the country. I actually found a peice of paper (9 years old!) in my glove compartment that had directions to their house. I just forgot how long those country roads are. You feel like you are driving for miles in corn stalk walled corridors out in the big sky of Indiana. The drive was wonderful and I remembered how it felt to be out in the open like that. Looking at the wide fields and big blue sky... there's a feeling of openness and freedom.

Anyway, I showed up at my friends Mark & Mel's house to discover a whole group of people waiting for me. It was like a reunion of the church I had been a part of during college and then during the 6 months I lived in Indiana. It was a small church that always had felt like family! There had been an ugly end to it all and before when we saw each other there was an under the surface strain. But now, time had washed away all the old pain and strain and all that was left was family. These people are still family even though we are all older and we've lived lives that were far apart. Once they may have thought of me as a daughter but now I am grown to be a sister.

How beautiful the ways of the Lord! To be able to reconnect with old friends is truly a blessing! We had a wonderful time catching up and praying together. I stayed at Mark & Mel's house and was blessed to see all that God was doing in their lives --He is drawing their family to Himself and how He is the one who brings us up out of the desert places into lands flowing with streams of life!

I had not seen these friends since Rachel's wedding in 2002.

Winona Lake, IN
Another college friend that I visited lives in the beautiful town of Winona Lake, IN where Grace College is located. Winona Lake is a quaint place that is slowly being restored to it's original Billy Sunday era state o being. I wandered around on part of the campus and I realized that even though my time at Grace was significant in my life, God has brought me to a new place. My college days are long gone and God has been faithful to do His work in me since then. It's amazing to stop and reflect: we cannot go back but where we have come from has shaped who we are.

It was good to reconnect with my friend, Heidi. She told me of what she had been up to and how she met her husband. I looked at wedding photos of the handsome couple and I was blessed to see how God had been at work in my friend's life. What I was most impressed with was how Heidi's brother had been praying and fasting for his sister to find her hubbie. Somebody should tell my brother about that plan! :0)

I had not seen Heidi since the summer of 2001.

And Back Again
I returned to Eastern PA this past Wednesday. It took me about 10-11 hours to drive from Rochester to PA! Ugh, my car was pretty grumpy in the end and I made it back just in time for choir practice. phew...


Thus ends the tale of my journey of a thousand miles.

A journey back in time, a journey to reconnect, a God-given journey...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You write, "...even though my time at Grace was significant in my life, God has brought me to a new place. My college days are long gone and God has been faithful to do His work in me since then." Sometimes I miss, even long for my college days; but this is what God is reminding me of, too. Thank you for expressing it, Carrie, because it encourages me, too.
~ Kristi

Anonymous said...

And you never visited us!? that's strike two! strike one - you never sent me an email about your blog!

Sincerely,
"One Bitter Friend" (if you can still call me that)

sob, sob, sob
(that's me crying...not calling you a son of...forget it...i'll just stop digging!