Transitions in a Terminal

As I sit here at the airport, I can’t help but feel this connection with the people around me. We don’t know each other, we don’t have any idea where the other is headed, but we can relate. We talk in line as we are going through security, we joke about the awful food we receive on the plane and for just a few moments or hours we share a little bit of our lives. I love these little random connections. I love the feeling that someone else, who I don’t know at all, is maybe feeling the same thing I am.

At airports there are goodbyes: people leaving their families, coming home from vacations, lots of different types of goodbyes. I understand goodbyes and can relate. Three very short weeks ago, I said a really big goodbye – Graduating from UD. It was easier and harder than I thought. Easy in the fact that the people that I feared losing and moving away from have shown that they are still a part of my life which makes me appreciate them even more. Hard in the fact that I’m starting over. I’m no longer a busy student who has meetings and work and classes to juggle. It’s difficult because my friends and I are moving away from each other and there are people who I’m not sure when I will see them again. At first that transition was really frightening and I wasn't quite sure I was going to make it. Thankfully, I had people to help me through it! ;) I’m beginning to look at the transition of graduating as a commissioning, a sending forth to something beautiful and new, instead of losing something that I held dear.

This morning I said a second goodbye. Actually, I think I've been saying goodbye in preparation for this trip starting at Easter! But, I’m here at the airport so this time the goodbye is a little more final. Although this goodbye is only for a short time, I have to admit I’m nervous. It isn't the first time I've said goodbye to my family and friends for a long period of time, but I have to admit, I’m still a little nervous. The next two months in Trinidad doing service are sure to change me and form me in spectacular ways, but I’m going to miss home. This goodbye like the one from UD is full of excitement and gratitude and a little fear of the unknown.

While there are many goodbyes, there are also hellos. I think it’s my favorite part of being at an airport, watching people excitedly embrace their loved ones! Hellos are filled with so much joy and life. In just a few hours, I’ll be saying hello to the community that I will live, work and pray with for the next two months. I've been waiting for this for over a year and I cannot believe that it’s finally here! I’ll also be saying hello to a new culture and a new way of life.

So, I’m nervous … excited… prepared and unprepared … and tired. But after two short flights, ready or not, I’ll be in Trinidad starting my new adventure. An adventure that is sure to be full of many goodbyes and hellos, and hopefully a little bit of growth and insight, too. I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I go forward and I’ll keep you updated!