I love the Forth of July! My son Caleb and I have a blast (no pun intended) playing with fireworks, army men, and an ill fated G.I. Joe that by the end of the night has seen better days. This year our family spent time with our friend Elizabeth and her family. This is a long standing tradition, Renee and Elizabeth grew up across the street from one another. The first time I met Renee's eldest brothers was at Elizabeth's childhood home with her parents hosting. Generally speaking, for the past 15 years we have been together on this holiday. Elizabeth and her family were some of our first and most faithful supporters. As always the food and company were great. The fireworks were loud, abundant, and beautiful (this year we got lanterns- like in the movie Tangled). It was an epic day.
But there was one moment, after all of the other guests had left. We were sitting and talking with Elizabeth and her parents..... we realized this was our last 4th of July gathering for sometime. We have every intention of being in Rome next year at this time. For a moment we all grieved. We love this family, and they love us. They have been a huge part of our life, Elizabeth has lived with us, Mollie (her sister) was the first person to babysit our kids, Bob and Bev (Elizabeth's parents) are Faith's Godparents. Even though we are now spread out from Illinois to Colorado, we still see each other as often as we can. It was odd to think that next July 4th we would not be together. We will miss them terribly. A lot like the fireworks we lit the time for us to leave is burning away like a fuse.
That being said we are looking forward to the time that we will spend in Italy, making new traditions and new friends. I am praying that God will minister to our hearts on days like July 4th while we are over there and missing friends or family. I cannot wait to see what God will do with our team! I am so excited to meet the people that will one day make up the body of the church that we will plant. Maybe we can set off fireworks on a different day in Rome!
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