Holding Hands

I have a creeper friend who stalks me during church.  Yesterday, she captured this moment, which was seemingly insignificant, and made it a moment I will cherish.  Libby and I were sitting in front of her; we were holding hands.  (And by the way, my friend is so dear to me for taking this photo, being her creeper, stalking self, because she knew it would so touch my heart!)

Yesterday was the end of a week of goodbyes.  We've made it a point to be intentional and take the necessary moments to say goodbye to friends who have impacted us during our tenure in our beloved Vienna.  There have been tears.  There have also been countless laughs, deep looks into loved one's eyes, touches on faces, and times when words and looks wouldn't do - so holding hands just seemed like the right initiative to communicate the deep affection of my heart.

Like most events in life, in the moment of a goodbye, it's painful.  It's not so much about the loss of a regular encounter with the person for whom you are leaving but the loss of so much more.  Relationships will and do stand the test of time.  However, it's the projecting of what will not be the same, the time that will occupy space until you see one another again, the changes both good and bad that will take place in the course of your journey before reuniting, the moving on.

Winnie the Pooh says it best:  "Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart."

It is the small things - when gathered and reflected upon when saying goodbye - that make a deeply profound pain in your heart when saying goodbye.  The pain doesn't last forever.  We, humans, are resilient.  But in the season of goodbye, the pain needs to be felt and managed well.  It reminds us of the important things.  It reminds us that we have been created to love.  It reminds us that God's greatest gifts aren't wrapped in beautiful packaging but in the shape of humans who forever change us.

I will hold more hands ... and I will grieve ... and I will be grateful for every bit of it,
Christina