Taking a Back Seat

It's been so good to see all my friends again... After 5 LONG weeks at Mizzou, pressing the pause button on college life for a day or two has been brief, but refreshing. Family meals, apple picking, late night conversations, reconnecting- a good recharge to my mental and emotional batteries.
Funny how much things can change in 5 weeks.
When Facebook and the occasional text conversation are all you have to keep up, there's a lot than can slip through the cracks. Some of my friends are exactly the same- just as funny, just as encouraging, and just as, if not more, recklessly devoted to Christ. That's great- TWO THUMBS UP TO Y'ALL.
Others, maybe not so much.
Now I'm not the filter through which my friends should make big life decisions. They shouldn't go around thinking "I better OK my new girlfriend with Ethan" or "let's make sure Ethan approves of my schedule." That would be pretty awesome, but it's not the way it should be.
Nonetheless, living 2 hours away and watching my friends grow up from a distance has taken a big toll on me. I went through middle school and highschool having a vested emotional and spiritual interest in my friends' lives. I was used to having a deep, personal, regular relationship with them, and that's a good thing. Starting over in college with very few friends (none of whom I was close with) was like having part of me taken away, and having to grow it back.
But I have to realize that life goes on. My friends' lives are not dependent on mine. They grow and change just like I do, and in their own way. Not being up close and personal with them is disconcerting and tough, but God has changes that He wants to make in my friends' lives, and I can't expect God to OK their new girlfriends with me. IT'S NOT UP TO ME.
That should be comforting.
If you find yourself restless with the throes and changes in life, remember: it's not up to you. A loving, omniscient God is in charge of people's lives.
A loving, omniscient God is in charge of my friends' lives.
A loving, omniscient God is in charge of MY life.
So coming back and seeing my friends grow up, admittedly, was tough. But cool at the same time. I can't wait to see how God will work in their lives- and mine.