I want to tell you.

I want to tell you how much I appreciate each person who the Lord has brought across my path.

I appreciate you.  Each of you.  

I've been pondering a lot lately.  "A lot" in frequency and in quantity.

In the past few months, some very important relationships have ended.  Nothing dramatic or angry.  Just over.

Some of us will walk the same path forever. My family and closest friends are on this path for the long haul.  We'll be in relationship as long as we have breath.  Praise Jesus for you!

Other people in my life were in for a fleeting moment- to say the right thing at the right time, to love on us just as we needed it, to hold a hand when no one else was there.  I'm so thankful for your impact on our lives!

What I didn't know until recently was that some relationships last beyond a season but end before eternity.  People whom I spent much meaningful time walking with, and whose path split from my own.  It's a gradual process really.  A little distance.  A little space.  A loss of commonality.   In truth, it's people following the Lord's will for their life.  And us following His will for ours.  In what I imagine is a natural process, the relationship ends.

I'm sure it's normal.

I'm even more sure it's painful.

The experience has given me reason to pause and reflect.  I am so excited about what my tomorrows bring.  I try to focus on living in the now, looking forward to the next thing, but I've been looking back.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for what I see, remember, and know.

The Lord has been so kind to us.  He's always made sure we had the exact people in our lives that we needed to learn what He has for us.  And, I've loved those people so much.

I want to tell you, "Thank you."  Whether we've met just for a moment or online only, thank you for your impact on my life.  If we've been through this life together for decades, thank you that you love me today as you did yesterday.  I love the confidence that you'll love me tomorrow.  And, most importantly, for those who walked with me for a season plus, but have now found our paths separated, know that today's distance does not diminish the love I feel for you.   It does not take away from whom you were.  You were, and are, loved.