Advent Day 3: Times

Very soon I will be the only intern here. Becca and Hailey are returning to the States in a matter of days to finish college and Kara is going as well to start her own college experience. I have never stayed in Jordan by myself longer than a week. Interns were already here when I arrived and though I've seen interns transition in and out it's never left me on my own. This week and next week will be filled with last hurrahs, final visits and bidding farewells. I knew this day was coming but "December" always seems far off in July and August so much so that you never expect it to actually happen. Sometimes I feel like so much of my life is spent talking about things that are going to happen that when they do happen I'm always taken aback by the abruptness with which things arrive and the quickness with which they leave. Now another finish line is in sight and the testing of my metal is coming. To be sure I'll still have the team around me and some new roommates will come with the New Year but now I'm different. I'll be the one with the experience and the knowledge, but also still an intern who is learning and experiencing new things everyday. The sands are again shifting under my feet and all I can do is pray for good balance to stay upright.

Ecclesiastics reminds us of the season and time for everything. The seasons of our lives rarely match up with those around us but it is with these people that we share our lives. Today I shared in a season of mourning as I attended a wake. 

Welfit is a women's exercise class that meets at the Center three times a week. The women have grown close to each other and to the ladies who teach the classes. One of the ladies who attended the classes, Lana, was a young woman full of life and expecting a baby. Very suddenly she became severely sick and the sickness claimed both her and her child. Every woman who is part of Welfit was heartbroken over this tragedy. Hailey and I have been going to classes once a week for a while now but because of the language barrier and scheduling conflicts we have not gotten a lot of opportunities to interact with them outside of class. Despite this I wanted to attend the meeting to show respect, love and support for everyone who did know Lana. It began with prayer, then there were some readings from the Quran and the Bible. Some of the women who were close to Lana talked about her character, her energy and how much they were going to miss her. My heart broke for each of the women there and for Lana's family. All I could do was sit, drink coffee and pray for every woman in the room. When it was over, I got up to leave to go running but I decided to go around and properly say goodbye to all the ladies there. Each of them thanked me heartily for coming. As I climbed the stairs up to the exercise room I couldn't help it, I cried.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-7 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 
a time to break down, and a time to build up; 
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; 
a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 
a time to seek, and a time to lose; 
a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak."

O God give us joy when entering into new seasons, wisdom and love in sharing in the seasons of others, and faith and perseverance in all times.