It’s a little over 2 months until I leave the country for nearly a year. Sometimes I feel as though my mind is already on the race.
I’m constantly thinking about the immunizations I need to get sometime pretty soon and what I’m going to pack. I think about all of my squad-mates and how excited I am to meet them! I think about the countries I’ll travel to, the cultures I’ll be immersed in, and the people I’ll meet along the way.
At the same time, part of me wants to cling to ‘home’ and everything that’s associated with it for as long as possible. Can I really leave my family and friends for 11 months? I’m going to miss them so much! What about my comfy bed? Food that I’m used to? Hot showers? My car? More than just a couple of changes of clothes?
Then I think again about how excited I am to be blessed with the opportunity of sharing God’s love all around the world!
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
As it’s been getting closer to June, I’ve been thinking about having to say goodbye to all of my family and friends. I really don’t like goodbyes at all!
Last month, a couple of good friends of mine from the Midwest visited for a week. Hannah was one of them, and her leaving to go back home started the many goodbyes that I’ll be facing in the next couple of months.
(Hannah and I holding a bookmark that says-
“You’ll always be my friend. You know too much.”)
Hannah is one of my best friends. She’s always a great encouragement to me and I’m so glad God brought her into my life. It was so hard to say goodbye to her!
I know it’s going to be hard these next couple of months as I say goodbye to family and friends that I love so much. It sometimes seems like it would be easier to back off and try to avoid the pain of saying all my goodbyes. But I know that God wouldn’t want me to do that. He’s blessed with with such an amazing opportunity to love others and I need to practice it right now.
“Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” -Matthew 22:36-39
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
