Today was camp day at the M&B centre. Around 25 kids from ages 6 to 17 gathered for a day of fun-filled activities at H park… These kids all had one thing in common - someone close to them (a mom, a dad, a sister or brother, a grandpa…) had died, or were dying.
What might sound really morbid was really quite…normal. And it was just so enjoyable to be around them, to laugh and to play with them. We did some activities around grief and many were pretty frank and approached the subject of death casually. It was hard for me though, to imagine going through the death of someone close to me at such a young age..I hope that each and every one of them will be able to adjust and cope with such a loss as they grow up.
***
I have come to see that I’m very different and no longer fit in with some of the friends I met at UW. Maybe it’s just that I’ve changed and I’m no longer the same person I was in first year. In some ways, it feels awkward to be with some of those ppl with whom I was so close with…as I am not close with them anymore. Isn’t is strange how you can be so close to someone one moment, and the next it’s like you don’t know them at all? I have trouble grappling with the coming and going of friends. Friends for only a reason, and a season. It hurts to be forgotten, but I think that I need to find peace in knowing that God places certain people in your life at certain times, for certain reasons. And that He will always provide for you…and that includes the provision of encouragement from friends. (Yes, I realize I’ve talked about this subject more than once).
**
What is my role in ministry? Even though I think I’ve grown to be less extroverted over the years, I think I still have a passion for evangelism. LOAH has been fun and exciting…it often takes me kicking myself (mentally) to approach strangers to say hello. But it’s also pretty exhilarating :) I think God is teaching me to love people and see people as he sees them.
Ya, certainly true that how you were as first year is very different from now. And our set of friends reflect that character growth and maturation. I think it’s not unreasonable to have to evaluate our friendships and see which ones are positive, bringing joy and encouragement, while others cause grief in our lives b/c of how incongruent they are to our values. It sounds selfish, but why do I need to be around people who make me feel excluded or odd one out all the time? I think as we get older we’ll have to take these steps to prune friendships as we realize 1) we can’t hang out with everyone 2) not all are beneficial to us either. (this is not to say we shouldn’t be challenged by different kinds of friends)
About feeling forgotten- for those people who you might get this feeling from, maybe those friendships aren’t as valuable in your life right now for the direction you are going. While that might seem sad, let’s look forward to the new forming friendships that will support and build you for the future rather than look at the crumbling past! Sometimes it takes giving up some past baggage to take on new weights in which we’ll be blessed from. It’s just scary cause it’s taking a risk.
take care =)
Being familiar with the face of death can be a blessing or a curse. It is typically both at the same time =)