Vol III: #57 Walk On
When I arrived in Redding almost nine years ago (it’ll be nine years in 28 days), I was absorbed into a loving and generous community. My new friends were confident and attentive and let me be me. We ate delicious food, drank our share of whiskey, and smoked cigarettes late into many spring nights. And then life lurched on, each person moving on in their own way. Some went to college in Chico, one couple decided to move to the east coast, two more got married- though not to each other- and I began to spend more time with friends from work. I manage to stay in touch with most of that community but it is sparse, in what a mounts to a few texts a year and the one off phone call.
I’ll always be grateful for Ryan and Maggie (who lent me her car when I didn’t have one), Daniel, Israel and Ang, Nic and Suzy. They welcomed me and endured my broke state like I was travel weary immigrant in need of warm and safety. They showed me how beat down I’d become but also how life can be joyful. They did all this without heavy words or manipulation. It was the Lord rewarding me and He knew I needed them.
Last week, I realized once again, life is moving forward. And, I must leave some people behind. Where I’m going they ain’t coming with. They are more of the 9-5, four weeks of paid vacation, want to retire and die in Arizona type of people. While I find no fault in that type of vision, it ain’t me. I’ve got a lot of creating to do, maybe some more ministry school, and another big move. I suppose it’s best to let go now and focus on what I need to do.
This is how life is when you’re single and part of a community of people coming and going. Change is the only constant and it’s better to enjoy what comes rather than bemoan what is lost. I’ve learned to love and release like fly-fisher in the Sacramento, and now I have friends all over the world. Still, a receding friendship can sting even when I know it’s for the best. Like the community I met my first night in Redding, I’m thankful for Nathan and Kaiten, Alex and Hudson. They blessed my life and I hope I blessed them, and now, it’s time to walk on.
