Hi Reader,

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This week, I've been watching the building my wife and I lived in for over 2 years slowly get torn down.

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I walk by and stare at the 4th floor, remembering our time there, and feeling a strange sadness.

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All the other places we’d lived had been furnished. This was the first place we started out basically from scratch.
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Today, I looked at the truck parked in front of the building and wondered if any of the doors or heaters stacked in the bed of the truck had come from our place.

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Well, it's not our place anymore.

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A few years ago, we moved out of the country and moved out of that home.

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My wife sold our furniture to a man who came and took most of it away. I got rid of many books and other things we could part with, and we packed up the rest of our stuff into suitcases - some we took with us, some we left behind with friends.

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And then, later, we moved back...

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To the same neighborhood.

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These days, we live on the same side of the same street, at the other end of the block.

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After we moved back, I used to look up at our old home when I'd walk by it. I'd see the white curtains hanging in the windows, and figured they were the same ones we had. I think my mother-in-law had put them up for us.

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This week, after the windows were torn out, I could see inside our old place again--just a bit--when I tilted my head back to look up from the street. I could just barely see inside the living room--at the same walls that housed us for 2 years. These walls used to be pretty light yellow and cheery, but I could tell they'd been painted tan.

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It must sound silly that I'm sad about all this.

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Everything changes, like it or not.

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When we lived there, there was a large crack in the wall; and there are continuous efforts in this city to replace weak, older buildings with new ones that are more earthquake resistant.

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They'd planned to tear that building down 2-3 years ago, but are just starting on it this week. It's been empty for a long time. So, I knew this was coming.

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Yesterday, one of the neighbors was standing on the sidewalk looking at the building as the project was just getting started. He said they were going to tear the building down by hand.

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It was a little hard to believe, but that's what I understood him to say. So, we'll see. I had imagined a large machine would be brought in for the demolition.

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Today when I walked by again, my eyes watered with light tears, and I felt sadness swell up in my soul.

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And here's the lesson I'd like to share with you today:

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If I were to really "diagnose" and explore the root causes of my sadness when I think about our old place, it's not so much about the building, but about the memories there. And, truthfully, it's about more than that--other feelings and things I won't go into here. I think our old place symbolizes something, in some way--something deeply meaningful, special, and sad all at the same time.

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Looking back at the past, and comparing it with the present and future, though, probably isn't the most helpful thing to do. There's always been difficulties, in some way or another, in all of our lives.

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I didn't used to be an emotional person. Or, at least I don't think I was. But I've become more emotional in the last few years.

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I think that's probably a good thing.

Well, that all might have felt a little heavy.

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Before I sign off, someone who is in the same author coaching group as me published, Forgive: an inspirational journal.

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This week, she's sharing with her readers a book I wrote; and I'm sharing this journal she published.

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It's what you could call a Bible verse reflection journal.

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The entire inside is lined pages, with one Bible verse at the top. So, the idea is that you reflect on the Bible verse and journal your thoughts. All the verses relate to forgiveness.

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It's a paperback, and just $4 on Amazon.

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The description says, "This journal has 30 verses with space provided for you to write down your thoughts, record your prayers, or copy the verse until Jesus’ words become the solid place for you to build your life."

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You can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735474266​

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Thanks for being part of my reader community.

John Christopher Frame

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