So yesterday was a big day for me.  It was an emotionally-rough but spiritually-fulfilling day.

I saw my friends Archie and Rebekah for the last time — in a while, that is, but definitely not forever — at church yesterday morning.

After the service, Archie and I spent a little extra time together in his old office there.  We talked, laughed, exchanged gifts and prayed together.  He led me through the rededication prayer, which was wholly appropriate, because Archie has really been able to help me refocus my life in areas I hadn’t realized had become unfocused where God was concerned.

In my church, we talk about “God moments,” those times when we believers know beyond a doubt that we’re spending genuine, quality time with God Himself.  (If you’re not a believer, that’ll sound silly, I know.  I wish I could explain it better so you’d understand.  Short of that, picture a good time with a close friend: that’s what it feels like.)

Archie and I shared some really incredible God moments in the past year, and yesterday was the ultimate one for me.  Archie gave me a couple of books to read and some CDs of music he really likes.  It was an unexpected but really nice gesture on his part.

Eventually, they’ll come back to Charleston when they can to visit their friends and family here.   I will definitely visit them out there.  We have each others’ email addresses and phone numbers.  And there’s always Facebook’s live chat as an option.  We’ll stay in touch; of that I have no doubt.

But, as the saying goes, it won’t be the same.   Not like knowing they’re just 20 minutes away and that I can call Archie up on a random afternoon, ask if he’s had lunch, yet, and if not, suggest that he and I meet up at our regular hangout.

It was tough watching him drive off in the parking lot.  But at the same time, I still had a sense of new peace in my heart and excitement for them over what they’re going to be doing with their future.  Tomorrow, they actually leave Charleston and head to California, where they will be part of a team that will start a new church out there.

It’s a bittersweet time here at my place.  And today’s sort of the “in between” day where I’m reflecting on so many good memories and trying not to think about what tomorrow will feel like.

There’s so much good I know that they’re going to do, because they’re both the genuine article.  But I’ll miss them here.  They’re following God’s call, and there’s no greater thing I think anyone can do with his or her life.  But that call is sending them so far away.

Bittersweet.  Normal, right?

I love those two.  They’re incredible people in a world where incredible people seem increasingly hard to find.

If you’re so inclined, please say a prayer for them as they embark on the next part of their incredible journey.