Last night’s email from my brother John was a reality check:  he has found someone to rent the cabin long-term.  Wow.  I am very glad for him and pretty sad for me.

            Perhaps “nostalgic” is the better term.  To realize that I will not be staying there in the cabin when I visit (at first he had thought about doing vacation rentals) hits me hard.  It was most definitely home, a place of refuge in what Mom called “the middle of beauty.”  And now it is not.  Home, that is. 

            I have no regrets about moving, though I miss the magnificent mountains, water, and woods and the many friends who graced my life with their unique personalities and amazing giftedness. 

It is a marvel how much God healed me emotionally and spiritually during those five years on the island.  I come back to the Midwest a different person than when I left:  confident, secure, grounded in faith.  I find myself happily plunging into new opportunities for service, worship, writing, and music.  It is as if God has thrown wide the doors to my soul so I can embrace the present with joy even while I miss the past.