Joy through tears

Today I had to say good-bye to a dear friend, Holly.  She and her family will be moving to another state soon and today was my last time to see her for a while.

I called her yesterday and we had a lovely chat.  We took a moment to celebrate what a neat friendship we've had.  I welcomed her at her first MOPs meeting here, showed her the ropes and encouraged her to get involved.  I also told her about Community Bible Study which has blessed her many times over.  I've seen how much she has blessed others in CBS by serving as a children's teacher (my son loved her class and learned a ton) as well as the other ladies who have been blessed by her.

She also played an important role in my life.  We found out we were pregnant around the same time with our second go-around with kids.  I was terrified of adding a third child to already full load with my twins.  Holly was overjoyed--she has a beautiful spirit that isn't prone to worry as mine is.  We were pregnant in the summer together with small children.  That's a bond.  We even took our kids and pregnant selves to the zoo.  It was hot and I remember being ready to leave pretty quickly.  I remember calling her when my labor began.  David was early and I didn't quite think I was in labor.  She wisely suggested I head to the hospital.  Glad she did--I delivered David within a few hours.

Fast forward 3 years to now.  When she called and told me of their move, I cried as did my boys.  They love her kids, her and her husband.  Today they insisted they give her a good-bye hug.

As we had our lunch, we were discussing the concept of joy.  Not an easy one to explain or fully understand, even for adults.  I told them that when we're happy, we smile.  When we have God's joy, the smile may not show on our faces, but it's in our hearts.

Knowing that Holly and her family are moving makes me cry, but I have a joy that our friendship will continue.  God used our friendship to accomplish His goals at a specific time.  I'm sad that I won't see her at CBS and MOPs anymore.  I'm sad our kids won't play together.  But I feel a joy that this move is good for her family and our friendship won't end.  We're relatively close to where she's moving every so often our visiting family.  We'll make it a point to get together.  We'll send Christmas cards.  I'll see her on Facebook.

Joy is a tricky thing.  Happiness or sadness I get pretty easily.  Joy implies faith and trust.  Good-bye, sweet Holly.  It has truly been delightful to be your friend during this season and the joy we bring to each other will continue, even if it's from far away.