Loss

Well, there are happier posts that I need to write.... but this is the one pushing to get out....

Life as an expat is filled with loss. Some losses are big and some are small, but it's not too hard to come up with a list: being so far from family, not getting to see dear US friends in so long, living without dogs, feeling just a bit out of place most of the time, etc.

Now I know what (many) of you are thinking: that is not the whole story. And you're right, it's not. Life as an expat is also filled with excitement and new experiences. We would not trade this experience for anything and we are so grateful for the opportunity we have been given. But my point is that it is a 2-sided coin.

We've also realized that our most meaningful trips in Europe have been those where we have connected with friends - proving that God did not make us to solely seek pleasure & new experiences, but to be in relationship with Him & other people.

We've always known that one of the realities of being an expat is lots of upheaval in your friendships. Expats move around a lot. I met an American guy in London who had lived in Amsterdam for 9 years and he said his wife went through 3 sets of friends. Our friends here who are living in Spain long-term talk about this too. We've just not experienced this part of expat life before.

But last week our friends, Helene & Alex, moved to Dubai. Some people you just click with from the start, and that was the case with Helene & Alex & their kids. All 7 of us really just clicked. Helene was my 1st real friend here and I believe she was sent from God to bring me encouragement. They were also our closest friends geographically since they lived on the street behind us, something that was very comforting. Many weeks that Jason & Alex were traveling, we have shared afternoons & meals with Helene & her kids, providing such companionship. Their daughter, Chloe, is just a couple of months older than Katie and is also probably the friend that Katie has clicked with the most.

We hope to see them this summer in France, and we hope to stay connected with them when we are all back in the States. But this morning I am sad, because we will really miss them, and our time here in Madrid will now be different without them.

God has been so good to us. He has given us so many friends here - friends that it seems strange to think we've only known a year. It really blows my mind when I think about the richness of friendships God has given us so quickly. We are so thankful that we have friends who it hurts to say goodbye to - because our lives are richer for having known them in spite of our brief time together. Many more friends are leaving this summer; the goodbyes are not over.

So I guess now we have a choice, as we so often do no matter where in the world we find ourselves (and by "we" I mostly mean "I"): to focus on the loss or to focus on the goodness of God. I'm so thankful that He's not going anywhere.