Saying good-bye is the hardest thing I have had to do all year. Even though we did it every few weeks, it never got easier.
Today I had to say good-bye to all of the people I have spent 15 months building a family with. I can tell you from experience that building community is hard work. Living in community is hard work, and it hurt often.
But after living in this community for 11 months, I can honestly say that leaving community is harder than living in it. Being alone is so much harder and hurts so much more than any of the fights and offenses I have encountered this year.
I lived alone for at least 5 years of my life, and I got really lonely at times. But it is not until I lived in community that I was able to realize the depths of what I was missing.
Even though we are going off in different directions, I know that the bond we built this year will live on. We will continue to love and support each other wherever we are. This kind of community doesn’t end when you go home. This kind of community is built in the spirit and lives in the spirit – beyond the physical restrictions of space and time. It is eternal. We are a family – forever.
Thank you to all of you who have suffered and died beside me to build this family – united in Christ – eternal and indestructible. I love you guys. All of you.
