Meet me in St. Louis

 I live in Texas, go to school in Wisconsin, and where do I end up? That's right, good old St. Louis. It's funny how things work out, sometimes, you know? Something always takes me back there; family, friends, church, just the scene in general. When I was there for fall break, a friend asked me “Why do you love St. Louis so much?” and I really did not know what to tell her, I guess you are just always connected to your roots somehow. Since we moved so early in my life I spend half my time trying to get back to something that I never really got, trying to rekindle friendships that had a very dim fire going in the first place, and wondering whether or not a love could have been had I stayed in St Louis. Now, having said that last part, I'm starting to sound like a friend of mine. He liked this girl so much; The crush lasted 12 years, and might still be there now, but the thing is, the girl moved away from him 10 years ago, and when she lived near him she was too young to even realize. Their relationship never even had a foundation and they did not even know each other, yet he tried to start something that wasn't even there. Anyway, the whole thing just ended in heartbreak, on both accounts. I guess the lesson, or point, that I am trying to convey is that it is very difficult, almost impossible to start something that was never really there in the first place, especially if you never see each other and you live far away from each other. In the off chance that you have the opportunity to start something, do not be obsessive about it, but let things go as they should. God has a plan for everything. He knows who you are going marry and what you are going to do in life. Trust that everything he does has a reason and it will be explained in time. If he moves you, he has something better in store for you.

Therefore, the moral of this story is this: God has his reasons for everything and there is really no use in arguing with him on it because you will always lose. So, you moved away from the place you'll always call home? There's no reason you cannot keep those friendships, just be careful how you go about them. Let God work things out in his time. You don't have to forget about the place you called home to make a new one. They say “Home is where the heart is”, so what if your heart is in two places at once? You don't have to forget the memories, the friends, the house, you can just revel in the amazing opportunity that God has given you to start fresh, make new friendships, new memories, and discover a new house, all to go along side the old ones.

To finish, here are some comforting words from one of our Lutheran hymns (Lutheran Service Book 754):

Entrust your days and burdens to God's most loving hand;

He cares for you while ruling the sky, the sea, the land

For he who guides the tempests

Along their thunderous ways

Will find for you a pathway

and guide you all your days.

Text by: Paul Gerhardt