"He took her by the hand and said to her, "talitha koum,"
which means, "little girl, I say to you get up!"
Mark 5:41
I wrote this last September 4, 2015.
It was one of those moments when words stirred up unruly emotions and I had to
rush to fill up the glaring screen, before it was too late.
I claimed them over someone
else and now, I am realizing that God was and still is claiming them over me.
You see after braving the
field for ten years, my body finally started giving in.
After months of striving to
keep my feet firmly planted on the foreign ground, I have realized that there
is no shame in saying it’s time.
To the resilient warrior,
Thank you for rising up and
relentlessly seeing my dream to fruition. Thank you for never losing sight of
why you were here, even when people misunderstood the meaning. Thank you for
fearlessly defending what we fought for five years ago. Thank you for realizing
that while there maybe a number of people solely criticizing your choices, that
in the end they don't name you, and sadly they don't even know you.
They don't know the burden of
bearing a heart between two countries or the culture shock that takes a toll on
you for more than just a couple times a year. They don't know the pull on your
heart that keeps you overthinking and up at all hours of the night with the
vicious truth that fixing people is just too much of a feat to even frustrate
yourself for trying. They don't live with the guilt of living with bare
necessities and occasionally treating yourself with a cup of coffee.
But you tread the treacherous
waters and you brave living in two worlds. You keep your hands steady, at times
emptying them to fill up others. You carry the roles of director, mother,
teacher, friend and confidante simultaneously, and you bend at times until you
do break.
But the truth is you don't
really ever reckon with the breaking, you push it underneath the rug for
safekeeping and you refuse to take time to address it.
But just the like the billions
of others sharing this side of Heaven, your heart heaves a heavy, hurried sigh
and there are moments when you deserve to revel in rest.
Your heart deserves to break
every once in a while, to be able to redeem its’ misshapen mess of a shape.
Thank you for bearing the
burden that so many look over. Thank you for believing in the overlooked,
unwanted little ones that walk into your office on a daily basis. And thank you
for not giving in to the questioners and the misunderstood.
You are just shy of five years
stronger, today.
And you deserve to know that
I'm proud of you.
Love, you are a warrior and
you have kept the pace of loving with abandon, up until this very point.
There’s no shame in going
home,
instead you should see how
brave this makes you.
Because in your leaving, you
are letting me resume your loving.
You were brave enough to come
here and you are going to be brave enough to leave.
However, the same world that
told you that you were crazy and reckless for forgoing a life of normalcy is
now going to tell you that you are a quitter and you are fleeing, instead of
facing your fears. They'll show up and say it's fight or flight, but don't you dare think for an instant that you're wrong in this.
But please remember Sunday, remember your
Sundays.
Remember that sweet stranger resting her
hands upon your face and telling you that she was sorry.
Remember the hope that you felt rush into
your hopeless veins with those two dear people, who took time to unravel your
tangled threads of hurt.
Remember the love you found here, when you
least expected it.
Remember the dear ones who let you love them
even in your absolute brokenness. Remember the conversations that happened when
you just showed up and sat down.
Remember the loves that sat around your
table and the glimmer of thankfulness that lit up their eyes when they said
your name.
Remember your students that rose from their
ruins.
Remember the children who found Jesus in the
midst of studying English.
Remember the moments around the table, on
the street, and in the classroom.
Remember all of this and please remember,
that your five years were not spent in vain.
------------------
What others deemed failure, I deemed
fearlessness, because you braved the brutal commentary and you delved into the
depths of uncertainty…because you knew that you couldn’t go anywhere that I
hadn’t already been.
I was there and just like I was there, I am
right here.
You have had your share of goodbyes and you
have realized over time that your heart is a thriving village- and there’s more than enough
space for every single heart that you have met along the way.
You are leaving, but sometimes love comes in
the form of leaving and other times it comes in the form of holding on.
Your life doesn’t end here, your love
doesn’t have to take your heart hostage when it’s time to say goodbye.
Instead, go in peace, daughter.
Remember your Sundays.
Rest in knowing that you've done more than enough.
Trust that you deserve to get up.
talitha koum, little warrior, talitha koum
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