going away

This time tomorrow I will be on a plane bound for Romania. I've had a lovely last few days in Southern California. It's 80 degrees and clear today, tall straight palms poke an azure sky. A ring of snowcapped mountains and rolling green hills draw me into this place I call my hometown. Gorgeous clumps of orange and yellow California wildflowers pepper the landscape. One could not ask for a better send off.

On Saturday my friend Rebecca came from Seattle to spend the day with me and then that night we went to a going away party hosted by my sister JoAnna and her husband John. Jamie and her kids came, too, and while many I love were missing, the one I missed the most was my sister Elisabeth and her family. Still, it was such a sweet party as you can see by the photos.

And so, tomorrow I am going away. I dread the security lines now, which I've written about before. They've become the place where I most feel my alone-ness, the separation from those I love. This morning while I took one last walk in the sunshine, I was thinking the security line at the airport, and remembered this painting from my childhood. It was of these 2 little children who are crossing a bridge that is falling apart, and below it are jagged rocks and a temptestuous creek and all around it is windy and raining and stormy. But there's also this giant angel with his wings and arms surrounding them, causing them to cross in safety.

I'm hoping to carry that image as I cross my bridge tomorrow. I'm hoping to feel the presence of angels and a cloud of witnesses and the very spirit of my King so that I can rest in the knowledge that I do not go alone, holding that along with the ache of the danger in saying good-bye. Knowing that in the midst of it all is life.