This morning, I want to thank the people of Veritas.
Today is the day I pack up my car and make the last drive back to Indiana. I have been so blessed by this place, even when I tried to resist.
Saying goodbye is harder than expected. I have learned to love it here. Living here has made me more aware and more sensitive to the world. Veritas families have shown me how to love each other when it isn't easy, how to commit to a community even when you aren't welcomed with open arms, how to live the Gospel in ways that don't just sound Christian on the surface but make tangible differences in people's lives, among a hundred other lessons.
So a few thank you's:
To Joe, for accepting my hodge podge of skills and helping me make the most of them; for pushing my understanding of Gospel formed worship; and for letting me be part of conversations that were way over my head.
To Emily, for welcoming all of my awkwardness with open arms; for constant encouragement; for answering my endless questions; for being a friend even knowing I'd be leaving.
To all the cube lifers, for conversations over cube walls; for lanch parties; for the genuine interest you showed in my life; for giving me glimpses into life after undergrad that made me a lot less scared.
To the staff, for telling your stories and letting me observe - most of you probably don't know how much I learned from just sitting in staff meetings and listening to the way all your ministries work together - you have all shaped me and have affected the way I will do ministry in my own home for years to come.
To Tony and Susan, for opening your home to a stranger; for not just giving me a bed to sleep in but a safe place to come home to when I was so far away from my own family; for being open books and teaching me so much about life and family and ministry and how to live the Gospel.
To Genna, Chewie, and TidBit, for worming your way into my heart when I was pretty darn determined to keep my distance; for warm little hugs on really hard days; for showing me that someday (in the distant future) I might actually be cut out to be a parent; and yeah, especially you Chewie, for endless toddler selfies to look back on when school is just too hard.
To my Community Group, for embracing me with open arms, despite how out of place I really was; for giving me a picture of really living life together; for your prayers when internship was rough.
To the Veritas bands, for not laughing at my total lack of skill, for your creativity and passion that gave me hope for better worship trends in the wider church.
To my homeless and recently not-homeless friends, for letting me love you even when I couldn't do anything to help; for laughing with us; for enthusiastically serving our church; for making me not the only one here who drinks wimpy coffee.
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