I was having lunch with some friends last Sunday, and I was telling them about the process of leaving. I was sharing with them my frustrations with support raising and the pain involved with leaving my community. After I was done sharing, my friend looked at me and said, "I don't know what to say, but I am here for you." Those words were so beautiful in that moment. Sometimes there aren't words that can bring comfort or fix our problems or calm our anxieties, but in that moment, the willingness for my friend to sit and listen were a huge gift.
I am trying my best to be present before I leave for Peru. I treasure the conversations I get to have over coffee. I look forward to sharing life over lunch or dinner. I love sharing life with my community. There was a phrase that caught me off guard more than once. A friend would be updating me on their life, and they would pause and say something along the lines of what they were going through isn't nearly as bad/difficult/life-changing as going to Peru. I want to be present. I want to hear how life is going. I want to spend hours dreaming of the future. I want to participate in community here instead of watching it from the sidelines.
One part of my life here is substitute teaching. I have loved getting to know students over the last few years and watch them move from elementary school to jr. high to high school. It is such an encouragement when they remember my name or my travels. I have enjoyed seeing my students from church or camp wandering around the halls of Charter Oak. It is life-giving to walk around the halls and have students remember my name and ask when I will sub for their class. I have become a part of the community that poured into me as a student. It is a privilege to give back. I believe these students will change the world one day so I encourage them to dream big.
I want to leave you with a final thought from Henri Nouwen's Compassion.
"But what really counts is that in moments of pain and suffering someone stays with us. More important than any particular action or word of advice is the simple presence of someone who cares. When someone says to us in the midst of crisis, 'I do not know what to say or what to do, but I want you to realize that I am with you, that I will not leave you alone,' we have a friend through whom we can find consolation and comfort. In a time so filled with methods and techniques designed to change people, to influence their behavior, and to make them do new things and think new thoughts, we have lost the simple but difficult gift of being present to each other."
I am trying my best to be present before I leave for Peru. I treasure the conversations I get to have over coffee. I look forward to sharing life over lunch or dinner. I love sharing life with my community. There was a phrase that caught me off guard more than once. A friend would be updating me on their life, and they would pause and say something along the lines of what they were going through isn't nearly as bad/difficult/life-changing as going to Peru. I want to be present. I want to hear how life is going. I want to spend hours dreaming of the future. I want to participate in community here instead of watching it from the sidelines.
One part of my life here is substitute teaching. I have loved getting to know students over the last few years and watch them move from elementary school to jr. high to high school. It is such an encouragement when they remember my name or my travels. I have enjoyed seeing my students from church or camp wandering around the halls of Charter Oak. It is life-giving to walk around the halls and have students remember my name and ask when I will sub for their class. I have become a part of the community that poured into me as a student. It is a privilege to give back. I believe these students will change the world one day so I encourage them to dream big.
I want to leave you with a final thought from Henri Nouwen's Compassion.
"But what really counts is that in moments of pain and suffering someone stays with us. More important than any particular action or word of advice is the simple presence of someone who cares. When someone says to us in the midst of crisis, 'I do not know what to say or what to do, but I want you to realize that I am with you, that I will not leave you alone,' we have a friend through whom we can find consolation and comfort. In a time so filled with methods and techniques designed to change people, to influence their behavior, and to make them do new things and think new thoughts, we have lost the simple but difficult gift of being present to each other."
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