Saying Goodbye

Last night was an interesting night. S, the girls, and I went to celebrate the final Summit service last night. For those of you who don't know, The Summit was the church S and I went to before we came to the church we are at now. When we left The Summit, we knew it was the right time for us and there were some negative things going on then that we didn't want to be a part of anymore. It was hard to leave some of our friends behind, but we knew what God was wanting us to do. Actually, to be completely honest, we went back to visit one time (after we left) b/c someone came back to visit, and it was awful! I felt so out of place, uncomfortable, and just knew that we had made the right decision. Well, about a month ago, the news came down that The Summit decided to disband honorably. Of course, there was some turmoil with all of this, so they decided it would be good to invite everyone that has ever been to The Summit to come back and celebrate what The Summit meant for them. When I heard about this, part of me was sad to hear that it went down like that, but the other part of me felt like this was going to happen. I know that sounds mean, but I'm just being honest. Anyway, S and I decided that we would go b/c it would be good to see everyone again.

Well, last night was the night. Heath Bottomly came back and lead worship, which was wonderful. It truly felt like the beginning times of The Summit. It started to bring back such great memories of S and I dating, my SIL and BIL going to church with us, and the friendships and "family" that we had made there. Of course, this was a service of sharing, so tons of people got up and shared what The Summit meant to them. At first, people talked about the funny stuff, but then started in some of the great memories that would make you sad b/c they aren't there anymore. :( That was the hard, and surprising, part of the night for me. Like I said earlier, I knew that we were to leave The Summit, and I haven't looked back since, but after hearing Heath play and sing, and some of my friends get up and talk about the things that meant so much to them, I actually cried. I was actually crying tears of sadness. Even S was surprised at my reaction. It was definitely a weird night, but such a great night at the same time.

It's sad to see that The Summit no longer is in existence as a church building, but I must say, The Summit lives in all of us who went there. All of us have some good memories and some great stories to tell. God was moving in The Summit at one point and now it is our job to continue moving where God wants us to go. The Summit will live on in all of our hearts, and I just pray that the good part of The Summit (the part of building relationships and lasting family-like friendships) continues to move forward into other churches. I can tell you that is something I realized I feel is missing at my church now. Don't get me wrong, I love our church, but last night made me realize that even thru the bad, we really had some great friends and relationships at The Summit. Part of me feels that we are not quite there with that at Westgate. I know that some, if not most, of that has to do with me, so that is what I'm praying God works on me with.

Well, I just lost all thought in my head now, so I better get going. I actually need to get ready to go b/c I'm taking Diesel up to Dewey, AZ today with my best friend and her dogs to go herding some sheep! Diesel loves it and I'm so excited! :) So, I best be getting everything ready for that. If some of you reading have ever gone to The Summit and you wish to share your experiences, I would love to hear them. :)