.: ghost town :.

Last Saturday night, my summer at Mount Hermon came to what I would consider an official end (we still have Labor Day, but only a handful of the summer staffers are returning)... and I hit an emotional brick wall! Just as I was returning from having dropped off two of my closer friends from the summer, I found myself beginning to feel overwhelmed by the conclusion of what has turned out to be one of my most memorable and meaningful summer experiences. I finally got back to the campgrounds and just crashed as I felt my whole world begin to (seemingly) change radically in a matter of minutes. It has even gotten to a point where I cannot walk around this place without remembering powerful moments from the summer that took place in special and familiar "spaces". A major factor of my feeling this loss so deeply is because (as I am beginning to realize) I have not been this close to this many people in what feels like years. I mean, I knew I was growing friendships with many of these students (with a handful of ones that are turning out to be deeper than I realized even up to a week ago), but to see the end of this summer hit me so abruptly, I am left here for the remaining week with a deep sadness - even loneliness - that is beyond what I have come to expect within recent years. What happened here was rich and deep and life changing... and unrepeatable! And it is that final element that has me gasping for emotional breath. I know I will see many of these people again, even in the coming weeks. But this almost feels like too much for me to handle at the moment.

Father God, give me the necessary grace and strength to endure the prevailing waves of grief for the loss of what was so meaningful to me... even beyond what I could ever have expected or prepared for!