Welcome to the third edition of Free Form Friday!  Can you tell I like Fridays?  😉

So here’s what is “forming” in my head today.  Thoughts of hellos and goodbyes.  (Clever connection to the title, no?)  I love what I do, working with the School of the Bible.  I get to spend the better part of every year with the same group of students-teaching them, building relationships, watching them grow, crying, laughing, and having a lot of fun along the way.

The downside of my job?  At the end of every year, I have to say goodbye to these wonderful students.  I’m excited for them as they go out on outreach and then move on to whatever is next for them, but it’s still difficult to say goodbye after a year together.

That said…today, I get to say at least a temporary “Welcome back!” to some of my students, newly returned from outreach today.  They will graduate on Sunday, and I am so proud of them.  I will enjoy these last few days with them before they move on.

But my job is not all about goodbyes.  I also get to say hellos every year.  The first of our new students (school begins in late August) have already arrived a bit early, and it’s great having a little bit of extra time to get to know them.  Lots of laughter, stories, and even a bit of Scrabble.  (I lost…which means that there WILL be a rematch in the near future!)

So the cycle begins again.  A fond farewell to last year’s students, but a warm hello to this year’s students, as they gradually filter in over the course of the next month.  Coming up on another year of building relationships and watching God at work in people’s lives.  I am truly thankful to be right smack dab in the middle of the action, even amidst the challenges that come from sharing life together, even with the best of people.