Not an End

I'll just start by saying these past two and a half years have been my favorite season of my life. I have grown and matured more than I could have ever imagined and I got to meet amazing people along the way. Then enters this thing called transition.

Not a fan.

Transition is just a fancy way of saying things are changing and you either get with it or you put it off but eventually have to give in anyways because it has to happen.

It's not something you can stop. A lot of the time it's not something you even see coming.

You can be living life, loving it and not wanting anything to change, and then here comes transition lurking around the corner ready to slap you upside your head, or rip the rug out from underneath you.

Sometimes, however, you know when it's coming.

Sometimes you get to see it all unfold in front of you and you get time to process.

I'm not sure if this is better or not.

Being jolted into something new is sometimes better because otherwise you probably wouldn't have chosen to do it. That's how I ended up here in the first place.

Seeing the moment of transition coming and not wanting it to happen and not being able to stop it is hard.

That's how this has been.

Two years ago someone bought the permit to the land The Station is currently located on. We've had two years to process the fact that when our lease is up at the end of this month we will be moving.

We just had our last camp on the property.

So on the last morning, I got up early and went into the lodge to pray and worship. I sat at the back and stared at all of the chairs that sat there waiting to be occupied for breakfast.

And I thought about all of the campers that have come through our doors. And then I began to thank God for all the campers who have come through our doors.

I started thanking him for my life being impacted by this small little camp with the biggest vision. I thanked him for the friends I have made and the family I have become a part of. I somehow in a matter of minutes turned my mindset from "this is the end" to "this is just the beginning."

And honestly, it's the truth.

Transitions don't necessarily mean it's an end. Sometimes things end, but for this it's just the property.

The dream hasn't died. The vision is still there. It's just the beginning of what God wants to do with The Station.

So as I sat, finally accepting this transition.

The only word I could think of was thankful.

Thankful for this place and what it means to me.

And thankful for the more to come.

Switzerland: Day 5

Today was the day of all days, but sadly enough our last full day in Zürich. We started off by staying up way too late last night and getting out of bed at 11am.

Once we had all had breakfast and were ready, we left the house to head to the river and do a prophetic act. We declared Psalms 46 over the city then we made our way onto what we all wanted to do in the city.

Mainly it consisted of finding souvenirs for our family or friends, but we did end up stopping for an amazing lunch of fondue and dessert.

Amanda had the desire to go over to the art house and to be completely honest at first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but the minute the three of us (Amanda, Abi, and I) walked in it was like walking into a movie where someone is giving their date a tour of the museum themselves and showing them all their favorite pieces. The art was amazing but it was almost more awesome just to listen to a good friend describe her favorite artists and paintings.

We started to run out of time and had to leave to go catch the bus to take us to the train station where we would be meeting the rest of the team. Except that the bus didn't show up on time and it didn't seem that it would be showing up at all. So we began to walk, quickly.

As it was raining outside, we showed up to the train station 8 minutes late and basically soaking. Oh if only glasses had windshield wipers on them.

After a quick stop at a chocolate shop and a tiny sugar coma later, we were on our way to a small group meeting where we had the amazing opportunity to be able to speak life into the leaders.

This day was the best possible day to be our last. Friends chatting about which Swiss boy they should marry and who would be the flower girls at our triple wedding. Chocolate consumption beyond all chocolate consumptions. Pounds of cheese and bread. And feeling the presence of God within every minute of it.

Zürich has been the most amazing experience and I'm sad to leave, but there is such a peace in my heart that I will make my way back here someday. And I don't mean next week when we fly out of Zürich airport to go home.