love and hate

I love that Emily is spending this fall semester in Rwanda, but I hate crying when she leaves. I hate goodbyes, especially tearful ones. I hate that the pillow next to me in empty, that we can't talk about anything and everything as we fall asleep. I loved hearing my younger siblings pray a blessing over her, and seeing Nathan and Jeremiah hug her at the same time, but I hate the goodbye-for-a-long-time hugs.... I hate that transitions are so hard, but I love that this is an exciting new stage of life.

I love you, Em, and I know you are going to have an awesome semester!

I love that Acey is still here, that I still have company in my bed and somebody to keep me warm, but I hate that he can't go with me to Guatemala this semester. I will miss him so much... I almost already do.

When Mom was trying to make me feel better tonight, she reminded me that I will be able to keep in contact with Emily on a regular basis... email, blog, facebook, skype, you name it! But she reminded me how back in the day, like when Amy Carmichael was a missionary, there was very fews means of contact, maybe a written letter every once in a while. So that made me feel better, very thankful for what we have instead of taking it for granted.

And since Amy Carmichael came up in conversation, I will leave you with a quote of hers that I love: "It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desires which He creates."