Last night, I went to a dance with a dear friend who had asked me to go with her. A lot of other people that I am friends with and knew were there since a lot of people in my youth group go to the same school. We all knew that today, we were going to have to start saying goodbyes as both I, the close friend I went with and several other people are leaving soon. Today is also the last time our youth group will meet this school year. And, you know what we did, even with that in mind? We forgot it all, just for a few hours and had fun, laughed the night away and just made awesome, unforgettable, priceless memories together. Towards the end, after most people had left and some of us were cleaning up, reality set back in and we were able to face it together and hold each other through the pain.
But, here's the thing. We will all always have those amazing memories of fun, laughter and joy; of this amazing, unforgettable, magical night, of swing dancing under the stars and winning (or losing) Empire, and neither change, nor a move, nor the pain of life can- or will- ever take that away. And even the pain that set back in after we started back towards home had a certain beauty to it, because we were able to comfort each other and gear up to saying goodbye the next day, to talk about our fears, anxieties and feelings. Every second of last night was beautiful- both the vulnerable moments towards the end where I know I at least cried on my friend's shoulder, and the time where we allowed ourselves to just be happy and enjoy each other's company.
I had been and if I am honest, am really struggling with the fact that I don't have much time left, even though it was a long stressful day leading up to that time, I was able to genuinely laugh and smile like I haven't for the past month or so, and it was amazing. I also learned how much fun swing dancing is :)
In Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 it says, "There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under the heavens. [...] a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." We can mourn the loss of what we have, but we can also put it aside for a night and just get time with people we love doing things that we love: laughing time away, maybe even literally dancing, and smiling without it feeling forced because we genuinely have joy and are happy.
Today, even as this article comes out, I'm saying the first of many goodbyes- to people I really care about- and as I do so, I want to keep making good memories, and balancing both mourning and laughing. They're both important, and we want to walk alongside each other as we go through painful things, but we can also make good memories by the grace of God in the midst of suffering and hard, sad times like when we say goodbye . I know I will cry today, but I also hope that I will genuinely laugh and smile and get good quality time with some of my favorite people in the world. And that's the beauty of goodbyes- the bittersweet mixture of mourning and dancing, weeping and laughing. So yes, if you're saying goodbye like me right now, take time to mourn, but also take time to laugh and bask in the joy that comes from getting time with people you love, even if you know your time together is limited.
Anyways, those were just a few thoughts I had and wanted to share. I hope that you enjoyed this article!
Until next time,
Rose
Thank you so much for this article. I am leaving my host nation in a few weeks after living here for 11 years. It is encouraging to read your post and hear what you have to say about leaving ❤