Season of Change...

First of all, I have to say that I hate change and I am not a fan of saying goodbye. But in the coming week I am going to be forced to do a little of both.

This coming Sunday, January 15th I am losing my wonderful friend Candace Peplowski and her family. I know I am being slightly dramatic about it since I am not losing her in the sense that I will never again see her, I am losing her because she is moving out of the state. Gone will be the days where I can hop in the car and within 30 minutes be sitting in her living room with the kids running around and playing and Candace and I chatting and catching up. Now in order for that to happen it will add 23 hours on to my car trip and that makes me sad.

Up until now I have been pretty successful in avoiding the fact that she is moving, but on Sunday we went to lunch to celebrate her husband David's birthday and sitting there I was struck with the thought that our little group, our family-of-friends won't all be together again for a long time, it finally made it real, that they are really leaving.

It has become such a constant thing -our group- we are always together, hanging out and doing things. A lot of holidays spent together, birthdays celebrated together, vacations taken together and countless game nights had... even if she wasn't that thrilled about the games!!! It was our normal, if we were doing something or going somewhere it was always assumed that the others were invited.

But now I can't go where she is going. Her family following God's will for their lives and although we will always be friends, her family must go where they are led. So to San Diego they go, the sun, the beaches, a warmer climate and real Mexican food! I know that the whole family is looking forward to it, to a new change and a new beginning. And I believe as a good friend it is my job to help her not to look back and wonder if this is the right thing, as a friend I must support her and pray for her and encourage her the best I can.

But being a good friend is not always an easy thing. I would be more than happy if she would stay right where she is, but I know that is my selfishness talking. How am I supposed to be the supportive, encouraging friend when my heart is breaking over my friend leaving, when my kids are sad because they are going to miss their friends and they keep asking me why they have to go? Like I said I hate change. The thing about change though, is that you can either accept it, move on, grow through it and learn from it. Or you can let it get you down, seep into your heart and harden and become sad and miserable, which I refuse to do.

I know that there are lessons in everything and that through this experience God is looking to teach me something. It is Him after all that put Candace and David and their family in my life. I prayed for it, I asked God to help me through a very hard and lonely time in my life and he put the most wonderful people in my path, the Peplowski's were some of those people. I have been blessed to be be able to call them friends, to call them family.

So I suppose that is where I find the strength to be a good friend, I know that they deserve God's blessings on their lives, that this move is them being obedient to what God has asked of them, and by being obedient they are in God's favor. I also find strength in the knowledge that although they are moving 1255 miles away, Candace is only really a phone call away. Yes, I won't be able to pop over to her house but with all the modern technology and my awesome Iphone, I can Skype with her and still see her beautiful face whenever I want. And heck, now I have a new place to go and visit! 

There is one more thing I would like to add: No matter how far they go, I will always consider the Peplowski's family! I love you Can and I will miss you dearly but you will never get rid of me!!