I was just catching up on some friend’s blogs and one really made me think today. My good friend Stumbling was at the mothership this weekend for a conference. I had planned on going myself but my synod’s Jr. High Youth Gathering was this weekend so I was there with some youth. It was fun to get to know my youth better and it was a fabulous weekend but I really wish I could have gone to the mothership even though I know it still would have been somewhat awkward. However I know that the good would have outweighed the bad.

Stumbling’s post really made me reflect back on my time at the mothership and what a gift it is in my life. Without that place, I truly don’t believe I would have found my gifts for ministry. The Mothership helped me to find those gifts and affirm those gifts. The Mothership introduced me to people that I am so glad are in my life. What would I do without each and every one of them? Each of classmates (the ones I graduated with and the class I started with) hold a special place in my heart. They are the ones I can turn too when the world seems to be turning upside down around me. They are the ones that love me for me! They are the ones that have taught me so much! I miss them tremendously!

Don’t get me wrong. I love my current call. I have been blessed in so many ways and I’ve only been here since August! I wouldn’t have given up my first call either because it taught me so much about myself and the church etc. However these places aren’t quite the same because my friends and I are scattered…scattered through the 50 states and beyond!

What I guess I’m saying is that I am thankful for the mothership, the friends I made there, and the impact it has had on my call to ministry and my life. I look forward to my retread in March knowing it will in some senses still be like coming home and in others wont quite be the same. However the Mothership is one of those blessings in my life that I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world!