Do you ever find yourself back in one of your favorite places? It has been a year or two and you return to a cabin, the beach, a museum, a special city only to wonder- "How is it that time has flown. ONly yesterday I left and now I have returned? Only yesterday I grieved having to leave and now I have been granted the gift of more time in this place."

Right now I find myself in one of those favorite places- a lake in Missouri- a place where my family spent summer vacations throughout my teens, a place where I brought my boys every year of their lives before they grew up and left home, a place of peace and nurture.

As we move through life we can go forward knowing that just because we leave a place it doesn't mean we will never return.

I think of the Hebrew people who every year made pilgrimages to Jerusalem. They anticipated and prepared for the trip which brought them to the temple where they met with God, made their sacrifices, and returned to life renewed.

I used to grieve and mourn leaving my favorite places and moving to new locations. I used to-- I no longer allow leaving to take me down, because I have learned that my God and Father in His loving kindness takes me back -- to remember, renew, and lift.
Tell me about yoru favorite places and

Shine!