Times Like These...

I walked in the door this evening from a weekend away with friends. I set down my bags and in silence began to get laundry started, bags unpacked, and I began to mentally run through all of the things I need to get done tomorrow when I return to the routine of life. Then in the silence of my productivity I feel that twinge of sadness that always seems to follow the end of a trip or the closing of some experience or chapter in my life. I always feel a temporary emptiness when all is said and done. As I wash the day off my face in the bathroom sink my processing begins.
I realize experiences like this...whether with friends or family...are unique moments in time....they contain people and experiences you can't recreate. You can try, but it will never be quite the same. So when it comes to an end there is always a twinge of sadness that it's over.
I recently spent a week with some family at our cottage on Lake Superior. And while I see that family often throughout the year, we have never spent an extended amount of time together like we did. I realized that while I was sad when it came to an end I had a new appreciation for them. I learned new things about them and had conversations with them that I had not had before. Our lives became more enmeshed because of the way we spent time together. Sometimes it's just about the people you are with, but other times there is a perfect combination of people and place that lends itself to create a time you just want to truly enjoy and it it always seems to result in a heavier overlapping of lives.
Those times always make me thankful. And as I reflect upon this trip that just came to a close I have a thankful heart. I'm thankful for... community, for doing something out of the ordinary, good music, friends that genuinely love Jesus and make me better for it, hospitality, good food, silence, a reason to not answer the cell phone, a day at the beach, honesty, learning new things about friends, slowing down, not having a plan, experiencing new places, good conversation, not feeling the need to have conversation at all, laughter, questions, answers, being back home, and something to look back and smile upon.

I'm thankful Jesus allows us to experience more of him in the people and the places we go. I'm thankful that He delights in us and gives us times like these that let us delve into the depths of Christ with those we surround ourselves with in life.
But mostly I'm thankful that all of these things are more enjoyable because of Him.