Bittersweet Days

Training Log
Wednesday run
Distance: 3.87
Time: 33:50
Average Pace: 8:44 per mile

Thursday run
Distance: 4.18
Time: 36:01
Average Pace: 8:36 per mile

It has been really chilly these past few mornings - Wednesday morning was 19 degrees, and this morning was 20 degrees! I really was very warm after the first mile though. Running in cold weather really isn't bad if you dress appropriately. Other than my face feeling like it was going to fall off for the first mile, it wasn't too bad!

Today is really bittersweet, as our friends Rob and Kat (and daughter Harper) are moving today. Rob graduated from Asbury, and got a job as a counselor in Virginia. I am so happy for them to be starting a new life in a new place, but it is very sad to see them go.

Rob and Kat are truly one of a kind people. Kat is one of the sweetest and most faithful people I know. She is perpetually optimistic and encouraging. She is a great mom to Harper, and a great sister and daughter. Kat is just one of those people you want to be friends with! I've had a great time over the past three years working, running, hanging out and being in a small group with Kat.
And Rob - what can you say about Rob Raborn? He is simultaneously the most hilarious and sincere person I have ever met. (Megan, you are the most hilarious - but not quite the most sincere, ha ha!) When I was saying goodbye to Rob and Kat last night I burst into tears after seeing that Rob had tears in his eyes. Gets me every time. Rob is a great guy, and a great dad to little Harper. Rob and Kat are a one of a kind couple, and I know they are going to make fast friends in Virginia, because they just draw people to them. And I know lives will be changed in Farmville (their new town, not the Facebook game) because of Rob's contribution to the counseling profession.

Friendships can be odd here at seminary because you come into the school knowing that in a few years you will be leaving. Chad and I were very lucky to develop fast and close friendships with several people here in Kentucky. Our time at Asbury has been wonderful because of them - they have truly been our "family" away from family. But now, we are reaching our four year mark here at Asbury and our friends are starting to graduate and move away. This is a natural progression of graduate school - but it doesn't make it any less hard to say goodbye. We had to say goodbye to the Herons and Caldwells last year, and this year it will be the Raborns, Delattes, JD, and Strebecks. And maybe the Mostroms. Oh dear - my heart hurts at the thought of this exodus!

While I'm sad to see all of our friends go, I am also incredibly happy for them, as they are starting a new phase of life, which is (almost) always exciting. I think part of me is actually kind of jealous! I do long for the day when Chad and I know where we will go after seminary, the day we will know where we can put down roots. I know it will be in the south, though!

While it may be that time now for our friends, I know it is not our time just yet. So, for now we will stay here and continue to say goodbye. Depressing, I know! But not really, because I know our friendships with our seminary friends will continue through the years, across state lines.