13 Days and Counting

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

My time in Japan is coming to an end…and quite quickly. Although I can give you the exact number of days until I leave Japan and know exactly when I am returning to America, I think part of me is still in shock that I am leaving. Considering the fact that it is Lent, which is a time of reflection, I thought I’d write a blog reflecting on my current thoughts about leaving behind this country and the many people I’ve met and friends I’ve made.

The bible verse from Ecclesiastes I opened with was the bible verse Eric preached at our last Hongo Service this past Friday. He talked about how John and I will both be leaving the Tokyo community but the impression that we made will never leave. Part of us will always be remembered, the students will remember us (hopefully for a long time) and our impact on their faith journey is something that can never be undone. With technology advancing around us all the time it has become easier than ever to stay in touch with people. With Facebook, blogs, e-mails, and skype, if I wanted to talk with everyone I met in Japan on any given day, I could. But is that necessarily a good thing?

I truly believe that everyone comes into your life for a reason. Whether it’s because you need to learn something from them, you need to teach them something, you were meant to love them and be loved by them, or maybe it is something as trivial as a comment you said that ended up changing their whole life… You meet everyone for a reason and when that person has fulfilled their part in your life, it is time for them to step out of your life.

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,

Maybe this verse applies to friendships being born and dying as well…

I think sometimes we cling onto our past and people from our past because we think they are meant to be in our lives forever. But what if that’s not true? What if I was meant to make a clean break from some of the people I’ve met in Japan? What if some of these relationships have lived out their function and purpose…when I say goodbye, should it be goodbye forever? Sometimes hanging onto people from our pasts is a detriment to our future progress and life ambitions. If we are clinging to people and countries of our past maybe we miss that new opportunity that is waiting in front of us.

I am not saying that I will forget everyone I have met here in Japan, or that their function in my life is over yet… but merely saying that I am okay with some things coming to an end. This chapter in my life will end shortly and then a new one of travel will begin. Some people I have met here in Japan will remain close friends for life, and others that I have met in this big metropolis of a city will become pleasant memories I can think about. The people who served their purpose in my Japan story, and hopefully I served my part in their life story. I think I am coming to terms that I will probably never see most of these people in my life again.

But I ask again, is that necessarily a bad thing?