NOSTALGIA

Went to a luncheon today for the Methodist District Conference. During the program, the praise team led the group in 3 songs. During one of them, the instruments stopped, and it was just the group singing, filling the room with such beautiful sounds. It transported me back to the college days of Baptist Student Union retreats and conferences...to the overwhelming feelings of love and being blessed. It transported me back to a retreat at HEB foundation camp...driving through the river to get to the camp...hiking in God's glorious hills...swimming in Blue Hole, ice cold and crystal clear...sleeping on bunks with such sagging springs that you had to do major climbing to get up and out of the bunk. And then...on the last night...sitting out under the stars with a few dear friends and the guy I was crazy about...and suddenly we all started singing "God Is So Good." That has been a special song to me ever since.

It transported me back to an awesome Conference...Mission 70...in Atlanta, Georgia. A huge auditorium of young adults all singing the song written especially for the occasion. I still remember the words. ..."oh help me Lord to find my place...in God's world today." (Funny, that's what we're all still searching for, isn't it.) An amazing conference...strong feelings of conviction...such life shaping events.

And then I returned to the present...back to the "here and now." I found myself awash with the longing to just once more be able to revisit and recapture those amazing feelings when the heart overflowed with love and the conviction to be totally selfless was overwhelming. I guess I will just have to settle for the nostalgia...the nostalgia and its accompanying mixed emotions...joy and gratitude for having had the experiences, but sadness that I will never again be able to experience them. I've often heard it said that you can never go home again. I know that's right, but in this case, I would love to try.