material and the rest

Our dear friends from Oregon came visiting this past weekend and the time it is taking for our family to recover emotionally from their departure has me thinking a lot about what matters most in this life. The time we had with them was so wonderful and relaxing, just as time spent with old friends should be with late night talks, some debates, and a hike or two thrown in for good measure. Perhaps the most comforting week we have had since leaving Oregon ourselves.

The morning of their departure from Oregon they sent a note saying they were on their way and lots of friends were sending greetings with them. I immediately began to sob when I read those words. Sometimes it is easy to forget what having a large group of people you love and feel supported by feels like. And the fogetting is good. Always thinking about it would make being anywhere but Eugene pretty hard to bear.

When we were in Oregon, we lived in 500 square feet with 3 kids. Kind of crazy. And we had minimal furniture. Our matress was on the floor, our dining table was small despite our large family. When our frieds walked into our new home for the first time they said, “It’s so much bigger. And you have furniture!” It was nice to finally have a large house in which to host friends. A house made more a home by their visit.

And that all got me to thinking. People are always telling us how lucky we are to finally have a house and so much land. To live in such a safe and beautiful place. When I look around me, it’s true. We are suddenly materially blessed in a way we could not have imagined before. But before we were so rich in love and friendship that our little 500 square feet felt like a mansion. I know that all of that love is still there and we are slowly building a friend base here as well, but of course it takes time to develop bonds like we had in Oregon and nothing can replace the easy day to day chats and cups of tea of an in-town companionship. I have one or 2 amazing friends here in town already that I am sure would evoke the same storm of emotion if I were to leave Utah, but I can think of a few handfuls of people I have shed tears over missing since leaving Oregon. My heart can really feel the difference in importance between material wealth and spiritual wealth. We always knew we had it good there with our friends and sense of close knit community. We always said that we wouldn’t trade some of the yeas in that little place for a palace. But boy do I see how right we were now that we’re so far apart from those who have brought us such comfort.

Now our friends have gone home and we have cried many tears. I keep reassuring Hannah jane that over time we will love people here in our new home the way that we love our friends back in Oregon. I think I tell her as much for my self as I do for her. I didn’t realize how lonely I felt until my memory was refreshed on what old friends feel like. We talked about planning a trip back for our own visit, but I think if I am to ever love this placce as I loved that one I shouldn’t visit for a while. A dose of love as big as we would get in Oregon might make it hard to find contentment here. Now I’ve seen it from both sides and let me tell you that a great group of friends beats a great house any day. Hopefully we will soon have both right here in Utah.