two suitcases and five agains

after a few weeks of mentally processing all of my belongings, going through what i have, what's important, what i want to take, what i want to leave, etc. etc. etc. etc. etcccccc..........

i finally packed my bags. i just got up, went through everything:

everything i want to take with me- on the bed
everything i'm leaving here- on the big pile under my window
everything that i'd like to take but don't mind leaving- between the bed and the two suitcases

don't get me wrong. i will, at some point, unpack these bags and refill my now empty closest. afterall, i still have about three months left.....besides that, i'm going to need at least one of the suitcases in less than two weeks since i'll be traveling again. then after that, i'll travel again. then again. then again...and then again...(that should be five "agains") and finally, i'll begin my adventure home...which is going to be a two week adventure.

amidst the packing, i'm reminded of how easily i become attatched to things. when i pick up certain things, i see the face of the person handing it to me. i remember the laughing....i hear the jokes. i think of the bad days that we went through. usually, these memories make me happy....but lately, they just remind me of how short our time together has been.

our lives are so short. there are a lot of sad, painful circumstances. there's so much sufferring. may we remember to be just the tiniest reflection of hope. the simplist reminder of joy. each person we meet is telling a story...a story full of many, many things -- things that have made him/her laugh, cry, sick, sad, furious, gleaming, hopeful, lonely....so many things. but under all of these things...no, through all of these things, we are.

we are here. we are here now. may today, through whatever things you're going through, you look at someone and see through his/her irritating habbits. look beyond his/her shortcomings. may you look at someone and see him/her as a person. just as s/he is. just as we are.

and may, by the grace of God, you love him/her as s/he was created to be.