Reflecting...

Just Thinking

RF Hoak

Just sitting here and thinking, friend

And wondering how it would be

If I had not known you at all

And you had not met me.

All things we've shared would then be lost, 

The smiles and heartaches, too - 

The world would be a dreary place

If I had not known you.

But these fond memories through the years

All the fun times, too.

Just make me thankful you know me

And glad that I know you.

I received the above poem today from my neighbor, church leader, and friend, Kathryn Wardle, who is moving with her cute family to Boise, Idaho at the end of this week.
I love it, because it voices exactly what I've been feeling of late. So many people in my life are moving away, or going on missions, or taking different paths, and it's so strange.

People I've known almost my entire life.
People I've met along the journey thus far.
People I've only just met.
People I never got to know very well.
People I wish I'd introduced myself to.
People I admired from afar...
There are people from each category that I will never see again.
It's so weird.
And so sad.
And so scary.
Because so many of you are taking a different path than mine, I want to thank all of the people I've known these past seventeen and a half years.

All of you have changed me.
Impacted my life in some way.
Some lifted me up.
Some put me down.
But whether you befriended me,
hurt me,
complimented me,
spurned me,
loved me,
or hated me...
Every one of you helped me to grow into the person that I am today.
And for that, I thank you.