reflections on leaving New Orleans...

i have been a jumble of emotions since about mid-August as my new-orleans-departure date drew ever nearer.  this beautiful post from a new friend, who is also leaving her current home to join InnerCHANGE, and embrace the unknown, inspired me to share my thoughts on moving and transitions.  on my mind is this song, also appropriate for leaving a place that has my heart.

Abiding City by Sandra McCracken
Oh sweet home of love and peace
where pilgrims tired and troubled rest
into the hope of Zion we
will in Jesus' arms we will fall at last


Addictions, empty promises
This broken world just can't satisfy
A sweeter song redemption's bliss
Is sealed for us in paradise


Oh lift up your head
For the day is near
We have no abiding city here.  


Spirit heal our neighborhood
Until your Kingdom work is done
Teach us what is just and good
As we look for the city that is yet to come


Oh lift up your head
For the day is near
We have no abiding city here.  


City filled with golden light
God the builder & the architect
And when our faith has turned to sight
Oh I cannot imagine it!  


Oh lift up your head
For the day is near
We have no abiding city here.

i was sharing with another friend a few days ago the seeming irony of all this timing.  i lived in new orleans for exactly 4 years.  for the first year, i hated it most days.  well, really, it's a place that takes some getting used to...not to mention it was in full-on disaster-recovery mode then.  it doesn't function the way most "normal" cities do, and that adds to its charm and character...i just didn't realize that at the time.  God was teaching me to have grace for a place!  after the first year, those periods of wanting to leave grew further apart, and my love for the city got stronger.  the first time i learned about InnerCHANGE, in the summer of 2008, i was all set to jump in but had the sense that God was saying "not yet." and indeed, He did some amazing things in my life in new orleans after that. over time, God provided me with such a beautiful community that made it easy to call the place home.  and when moving day came, i couldn't believe i would have ever wanted to leave.   i had fought to love this place, to see what God was doing in and around me, and it felt like just when i was getting into my groove, He is calling me someplace else.  i don't doubt for one second what He is doing in leading me to South Africa--i just wish i could bring all the people dear to my heart with me there....or just be in two places at once!!

all that to say that this song reminds me that as much as i love new orleans and the life i had there, and really as much as i may grow to love soshanguve, south africa and the life that God grows there, my home is not on any earthly map.  even the best places to live don't compare to where we're headed and we are just making our way through this life as pilgrims en route to something grander and whole.

and 'til we reach that day, my prayers will continue to be "Spirit heal our neighborhoods, until your Kingdom work is done.  Teach us what is just and good, as we look for the city that is yet to come"