love.

Bundled in my flannel pj pants and an old highschool sweatshirt, tonight I rocked myself on the porch swing, enjoying the kind of chill that only follows a perfect Colorado day.  I listened to the silence (which is not actually silence at all, but the sound of life being lived) and felt little pieces of my heart start to fall back into place as I remembered just how much I love this place.  With the breeze cooling my cheeks and the crickets singing in the background, I finally let my mind wander in a way that I've resisted until now, afraid of what may appear there.  

I thought about two weeks (that feel like a lifetime) ago, when I was surrounded by the most wonderful of friends.  I thought about each person in that tiny apartment, there simply to say goodbye to me, and thanked God for who they are - for who they have helped me to become.  I miss them (I miss all of you) in a way that doesn't fade with time.  Photos hang on the walls and cover the many flat surfaces of my new room...reminders of happy times with those dearest to my heart.

And though it hurts (it actually physically hurts) my heart, the smile which graces my lips when I think of that goodbye party (and every moment that went into every friendship represented there) reminds me that the ache in my heart simply exists because of the many blessings I have been given.

And now, I fall asleep with a heart quiet and peaceful because of the Love of God...the Love that sat next to me on the swing and speaks to me in the evening breeze.