Friends along the way…

Right we are off – the first blog post is here and as we prepare to leave for Zambia we have been saying our farewells. Leaving our community of friends in Devon. Visiting family and friends. It is a process that makes you reflective…

Saying goodbye is always hard – but is always a strengthening experience. You remember the good times, the fun and the laughter. You forget the petty arguments, the niggles and pains along the way. It teaches you to celebrate what God has given you and remember the lessons you’ve learnt.

And with a select few friends – often not the ones you expected – it helps you to go deeper in your friendship. It also helps you recognise Gods presence with you wherever you go – He is not confined to four walls or a region, and nor are His followers.

We leave excited about the road in front, thankful for the journey so far, and wiser than when we started out.

Godzone
This time of preparing to travel and saying goodbye has led me to re-read one of my favourite books, Godzone: A Traveller’s Guide by Mike Riddell, which has an apt chapter on the subject:

“Travellers of Godzone also find companions along the Way. They share the road with fellow drifters and desperados. These weird and woolly wanderers are gifts from God to you. They do not always appear that way at first. Sometimes they seem as useful as the silver serviette ring that Aunt Agnes sends to you care of Poste Restante. But when the time comes to part, you realise that this chance meeting was the right person at the right time, and that your life is all the fuller and richer for the meeting. We need these little reminders that we don’t travel alone, and that Godzone existed before we ever started to explore it”

Quote from the book Godzone by Mike Riddell