Something still grateful

Today was my last day at church. I have four days left in Turkey. Four precious days to fill with love and goodbyes. I honestly don't know how to say goodbye to this place. I reached my emotional quota sometime last week and this week I'm just, well make sure there's tissue around. I'm so excited to be going home, really, I am. But, for this moment, I'm here and in the right now, goodbyes are hard. I was remembering today about a year and a half ago when I shared with you a familiar scene to me today. I watched our fellowship say goodbye to a family that had served in our city for eight years. I remember standing on the outskirts of a circle of people surrounding them, praying, saying goodbye and sending them off with such tears of joy to have been able to be a part of their lives and such sadness to see them go. I did not live here for eight years. My season lasted almost two years, but today I stood in the middle of a very familiar circle of friends that were some Turks and some not, and was overwhelmed with the love that He has blessed me with in this place. I never imagined a year ago the blessings that He would fill my life with during my time in Turkey. Today I cried and everyone in my circle cried. There was just no other way to leave. Turkey and these people have meant too much in my life to leave any other way. We have impacted each other too much to leave without a few tears. I told you that the man told a story about when asked whether he felt sad or happy to be leaving Turkey, his answer was that he was grateful. Today, amidst many tears and hard goodbyes, I am grateful. I told you last year that his answer would be mine and it was and it is. I'm still grateful. I am so grateful for the season He enabled me to live and love in Turkey. I'm grateful for what those tears represented today. I'm grateful that He loved through me and that He loved me through them. My time, I realize pales in comparison to eight years, but it was the time He entrusted to me here and I will be forever grateful for it.