One Thing I Don't Like About YWAM. . .

. . . is goodbyes.

This weekend, we've had many goodbyes.

Kyle and Carson, two of the French students (learning-French, not from France) left this afternoon. They've been here for the past three months, and are practically part of the DTS. We've eaten meals together, worshiped together, prayed together, and dressed up in crazy costumes for theme nights together.

Devon, one of the Compassion DTS staff, also went home this afternoon. He's taking a nine-month sabbatical.

Janelle, another one of the Compassion DTS staff leaves tomorrow morning.

The Montreal Urban Cultures DTS was here all last week. It was fun getting to know the students from the DTS and their teachers, playing games with them, having conversations, and doing mini-concerts with them. They left yesterday and this morning.

Our teacher from last week, Jeff Pratt, stayed and taught the Montreal DTS this week. He left this morning too.

There are so many hellos and goodbyes in YWAM. Our speakers come for a week at a time, and just as we start to get to know them, the week is over and we have to go home.

And about a month ago, the Compassion DTS came back from outreach in East Africa and Mauritius. We had a couple weeks of getting to know everyone from the DTS, and hear their stories from outreach. Then they graduated, and most of them went home.

It's hard, all these goodbyes. It's also tempting to hold back and not get to know people, because I know they'll be leaving in a week or two. I'm sometimes reluctant to really develop relationships ("invest in people", in Christianese), because I know that I'll just have to say goodbye soon.

(I'm not looking forward to the end of DTS. More goodbyes.)

But what is it that people say?

"It is better to love and have lost than to never have loved at all."

This is true. It is hard, loving people and listening to them, giving energy and time to relationships that you know won't be able to continue much longer. But God has been teaching me about living in the now, and loving the one in front of me. It's all I can do. I want to be fully present and love the people who are here now, because they are the only people who are here now. I can't love in the future or love in the past. I can't have conversations in the future or the past. Now is what matters, and God has called me to be fully present in the here and now.

And when it gets to hard, this is where I remember that love does not flow from me; it flows through me. God can give me the energy, attention and love that I need to develop relationships with people, even if I meet many people for only a short time. I can love without fear of running out of love, because God is my Source.

And this is also when I remember that this is just the beginning. Since pretty much everyone in YWAM is a Christian, that means we'll all be in Eternity together. I may see people for only a week here, but later there will be endless time to get to know them better. As Belinda, our speaker from a couple weeks ago said, we're going to be friends for eternity. This gives me hope.

I don't like all the goodbyes in YWAM.

But because of Jesus, every "Goodbye" is actually "Au revoir".