Thursday, June 16, 2011

Letting Go and Saying Goodbye

I'm not entirely sure where the month of May went, but suddenly it's the middle of June and I am way behind in my updates! I spent a lovely weekend in St. Louis with my aunt's family for Memorial Day.  It was great to spend time with my cousin Jenny and celebrate her recent college graduation.  Time sure flies!!

The last week of school (or should I say the last 1 1/2 days of school, thanks to the snow days) was crazy, as usual.  I spent better part of April and May in meetings making sure my students were all set for next year's transitions.  So, it's no wonder I put off the things I need to do for my own transition (i.e. packing) to Haiti.  I truly enjoyed the year at my school, and it was really nice to feel loved and appreciated by my students AND colleagues. :)

I've been thinking a lot lately about the story of the rich young ruler in the Bible. What was the difference between him and the rest of the followers of Jesus (myself included...I hope)?  Basically it comes down to one thing: he was more committed to his "stuff" than he was to Jesus.  I had a conversation with an acquaintance about moving to Haiti recently and he said,"We don't really NEED 90% of what we have." But most of the time we THINK we do! The flat screen TV, the microwave, the coffee grinder, the Christmas tree, the 20 different colors of nail polish, the never-ending assortment of clothes and shoes...These are things I've acquired over a good many years, because at the time I "needed" them.  Now they are the things that hold me back from this great adventure I'm about to embark on. That 90% will not fit in 3 checked bags and 2 carry-ons, and it certainly won't do anything for orphans in Haiti! Oh, what I wouldn't give for a magic wand or a Mary Poppins song to make this mountain of stuff just disappear!! But that's the beauty of this journey, it takes deliberate thought and effort to let go of the things we thought we needed, to go after the things that REALLY matter.  That is my task for the next 3 days...Wish me luck!

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