Reminiscent of the church

I remember a lady who was my prayerful roommate at a women’s retreat.  I still think of guys and girls with whom I stayed up all hours and bopped around singing in the back of a van on a mission trip in Mexico.  I think of girls with whom I studied the Bible for years.  I think of a man who asked me to pray for the Lord to free him from homosexuality.  I think of a boy who still makes me smile because he thought he so urgently needed to speak out each week in our kindergarten class, and I miss conversations with his mom.  Sometimes the Lord calls us to change congregations, and why don’t I see my former church-mates?  How does the ball drop?  And how so quickly sometimes?  We serve the people of the church, but ultimately we serve the Lord.  If we serve His purposes with a congregation, even if we depart without a single continuing friendship, we can be joyful for having known the Lord in those moments.  We call, we email, yet somehow the same people don’t come together again.  Is it like wanting a church souvenir?  Sometimes I’m not ready to relinquish the experience.  I love these people and consider our time precious for having sought the Lord together.  I want to reconnect, though the fact that I don’t see many of them again doesn’t nullify the genuineness of the time we shared.  Did I go to church to make friends?  What was my purpose? The Lord has used the people of the church to bless me many times, and He has so tenderly sent their feet walking up to me on occasions when I’ve needed a friend.  Yet ultimately I’m looking to know and worship the Lord and serve as He would lead.  From there, the blessings pour.  Because I love the moments He gives, I love the people who are part of those moments.