My brother in law from New Zealand came to visit with his wife and three kids. My wife and in-laws picked them up at the airport.
We had a blast together, and after seventy-two hours of non-stop eating, they needed to leave. We dropped them off at the airport, and I noticed three distinct scenes.
Happiness
When family arrives, there is an unexplainable joy. You look at people with familiar faces, with their usual smiles and yet you feel something special. Excitement looms as you go over your prepared itinerary which consists visiting places you’ve been and eating food you’ve eaten.
Sadness
When family leaves, it’s just heartbreaking. I’ve only met my brother-in-law twice in my life— one time in the Philippines and this three-day visit here in Australia— but tears welled up in my eyes when they were about to leave. I had to exert a lot of effort to hold them back. I looked at my in-laws, and I could only imagine what they were feeling. The smiles that were fixed on their faces for the past days were missing and was replaced by poker faces that hid the pain and sadness caused by the upcoming absence of loved ones.
Hope
After sadness comes comfort. Those who were left behind try to make it easier for one another by telling jokes, or by giving a few moments of silence.
No one really knows when it’s a good time to break the silence, but somehow you would, and you could start talking about that point in the future when God would allow families to get together again to repeat the whole cycle.
Hope is a good thing. You believe that something significant is going to happen and this goes hand in hand with faith. Deep inside you know you will see each other again because love strengthens us through it all.
Let's continue to spread positivity and promote good vibes! Soar higher with Jesus!
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.