End of an Era

About 20 minutes ago, I said goodbye to one of my best friends in the world. Not goodbye in the forever sense, but goodbye in the sense that I most likely will never live in the same area code as him ever again. And that's just now hitting me.

Myself, Ben, Seth and Josh (May 2013)

I first met Schwenker when I started going to the Rock during the 2nd semester of our sophomore year. A year later, he invited me to go with him and some friends on a Spring Break trip to Virginia/Washington D.C. I lived with him last year at the Cotton House. I've played on a intramural basketball team with him. I've really enjoyed getting to know him over the past 3 years, and like I said earlier, he's truly become one of my best friends.

Ben first told me about the job he's starting today about 2 weeks ago. Over those two weeks, I don't think I've let myself really believe that he'd be leaving. Ben is one of the last of the friends from my year to leave Columbia, so it really is the end of an era in a sense. I know it's a normal thing for college friends to move away eventually, but it's still not something I'm used to, and I don't think I ever will be.

But I guess that's something I will have to get used to as I pursue college ministry as a full-time vocation. Mizzou isn't meant to be home for everyone forever. People leave Columbia every year when they graduate. It's a temporary dwelling place, a place where kids come to learn and grow and discover who they are.

And while that is going to be extremely tough to deal with every year, I also think that's one thing that makes college ministry so great. It's an almost perfect metaphor for the world in general. The world isn't our home. This is a temporary dwelling place where we learn and grow and discover our identity in Christ, one way or another. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get home.

I don't really have anything more eloquent than that to say about the subject. Right now I'm really just letting myself mourn for a while, but also trying to put a positive spin on it all. I'm gonna miss Ben a ton. But I thank the Lord that I don't ever have to say goodbye to him in the forever sense.

Love you dude.