Tears & Anticipation... The Journey Begins...

OK, so I've never done this blog thing before, so bear with me on the technical stuff. Hopefully, I'll be an old pro at it in no time!

Thanks for checking in! I'm guessing that some of you have been wondering where I've been and why I haven't gotten to posting yet. Well, here goes...off on the journey and as reflective as ever...

It’s interesting, don’t you think, how many emotions can be expressed through tears? I thought of this as I departed Fargo on Sunday, August 17th, for my week of training in Chicago before heading to South Africa for the year. The past few weeks, for me, have been filled with a variety of tears. Tears can express deep sorrow as in the death of a loved one, or deep pain or deep hurt. But most recently, it’s been a variety of other emotions.

This experience…this transition for me has been bittersweet. The people of Olivet, the faith community I am a part of, the family I’ve found in Fargo/Moorhead over the past 10 years have shown me a kind of love I haven’t experienced in my life before. My tears have been both tears of sadness in parting from these people, these relationships that I hold so dear, and at the same time, it seems, these tears are tears of joy, of anticipation, of excitement for what God has in store for me in the coming year.

As you hug a friend or family member, and you become overwhelmed with emotion…what is that emotion? Sometimes, we cry out of laughter, and sometimes out of fear. As I hugged people goodbye, there was a sense of “I’ll be seeing you.” Or …”until our paths meet again.” We are shaped and formed by the experiences we have and the people we meet along the way. Whether that’s for the moment that our paths cross, or for a long period of time that we get to walk together. I appreciate these relationships, no matter what the length, (or periods of separation) and cherish them for what they are.

How about you? What have your tears said lately? Who are those people in your life who cause emotion like this, and how do they affect you? At the same time, how might you affect them? Today in our morning devotion time, we talked about how God calls us into community, and we must intentionally focus on relationship and trust in order for healthy community to thrive.

As I look forward to the coming year, I wonder about the people I”ll meet. In my experiences around the world so far, my relationships with new and different people have most always been full of rich and beautiful conversations in which we learn from one another. So for now, whether we meet people around the world or around the block, seek out those conversations…those opportunities to ‘show up’ when it really matters.

Peace…from Chicago,
Amy