There is a line from The Muppet Christmas Carol that has been running through my mind these past few weeks. “Life is made up of meetings and partings; that is the way of it” said by Bob Cratchett (played by Kermit the Frog, of course).

I have come to believe that when the goodbyes are difficult, then life has been lived well. And with the steady, sincere flow of tears I experienced this past week I must say I loved deeply the people of Mallard Creek and in return felt deeply loved by them. I will miss the smiles, nods and waves from their pews. I will miss the full embracing hugs of the kids (both young in age and young at heart). I will miss the hard-working, quick-to-respond-to-a-need group of folks who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get the work done. I will miss the home-grown veggies and homemade goodies waiting to surprise me on my desk. I will miss the sweet notecards filled with just the right words of affirmation, the shared laughter and good humor, and the tender moments of tears shared vulnerably. But most of all, I will miss a church family that is real and true to themselves. As I’ve told many of these beloved ones, only the prompting of God would guide me away from Mallard Creek. Even though I don’t always understand God’s timing, I do trust God more than my own understanding. And so this is a parting of my location but not a parting of my heart.

While I write this in Paris, preparing to leave tomorrow for St. Jean Pied de Port, I am filled with deep gratitude for all of the communities I have met and lived amongst. I feel like there are chambers of my heart their love has filled and thought patterns in my mind where their perspectives and wisdom has shaped parts of my thinking. I can only look at myself and see how these meetings and partings have been instrumental in making me who I am…for better or for worse, lol!

Here is to the meetings and the partings. Salud!