Family photos

On frequent moving...

Many of our friends and neighbors move away each summer. It is one of the most challenging aspects of life in a military community. These precious friendships must be carefully nurtured so that they bloom quickly and last over time and distance. We have sustained some for many years, others have faded into once-a-year Christmas letter catch-ups, others haven't lasted much beyond the base where they began. Each of these has its place, but sometimes the losses make me sad.

Next summer, we will leave Japan for a new assignment. [To where? God has a plan, but He hasn't revealed it yet. :) ] I know we have been saying that we're moving for three years running, but this time we really are. Because of this, I have been praying and pondering what the most important things are that we must do before we leave.

A lot of travel remains on the list: Hokkaido, Korea, Kyoto, a few last sights to see in Tokyo, maybe another festival or two... We jokingly call this mad rush to see all the things we haven't made time for during our assignment "panic travel."

More importantly, I am pondering our school year and the focus for the year. I am asking myself: with which friends and in which activities do I want to spend our last months in Japan? What do these choices say about our family's priorities? And are these priorities in line with God's? Am I listening with an open heart for His will for us this year?

And there are latent worries: will John find a job that challenges him and provides opportunities for professional growth? will we be near to or far from our families? what about the friends we have made here? will we be able to see Patrick, Tommy, Tara, Anabel? our parents? our siblings? will the place be a place that fosters our spiritual growth and challenges us to move toward heaven? where, oh where on earth, will we be going? and will we be okay when we get there? and when we leave there?

This afternoon, a piece on Catholic Exchange caught at my heart. The author, Lauren Enk, a college student who spent her childhood moving frequently, meditated on the meaning of home and brought home to me another truth of our family's existence when she quoted both her mother:

“'Everything in life changes. Families grow up. Friends change and move on. The only thing in life that doesn’t change is God, and as long as He is in your heart, everything else will turn out okay.'”

and Servant of God John Randal Bradburne:

God’s love within you is your native land

So search none other, never more depart.

For you are homeless,

Save God keeps your heart.

We make a life in each new place with a house, a car, a job, new friends. But home is He whom we carry with us in our hearts.

A.M.D.G.