On Loving and Leaving

People are so precious! (Exasperating, sometimes, but precious nevertheless.) Let's never forget it. Henri Nouwen wrote, "Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain. The greatest pain comes from leaving. When the child leaves home, when the husband or wife leaves for a long period of time or for good, when the beloved friend departs to another country or dies . . . the pain of the leaving can tear us apart. Still, if we want to avoid the suffering of leaving, we will never experience the joy of loving. And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking."

Many missionaries say that the constant saying of Goodbye is the hardest thing in their lives. It doesn't happen so often to us who tend to stay longer in one place, but we feel it nevertheless, don't we? It's comforting to remember that there will be no Goodbyes in eternity.

We're off early this morning. There's an urgent project waiting for us at the lake house which we hope to complete by Saturday evening so we can return home again on Sunday. It will be good to have at least a few hours with loved ones there as well.

Have a great weekend; I'm not sure when I'll be back online.

Blessings,
Carol