Empathy

Empathy is an emotion that will always be limited in scope, but I believe that I have just a bit of empathy with John Letoto. It came just moments ago, as I looked at the pictures he posted from his trip home to Hawai'i.

Each and every picture meant absolutely nothing to me outside of the fact that that was my dear friend John in them. That's it. The faces didn't trigger any emotions for me, and I hadn't been to any of the places. Still, I felt for his sorrow, felt for his separation, felt for his bifurcation.

Being a mere nineteen years old, I can hardly imagine what confliction he's going through, being away again. I can't imagine what it would be like, living in one state for twenty-four years, a paradise state at that. I can't imagine the shock value of moving from there to Louisville, Kentucky, change of climate, change of scenary, change of friends for so long.

I too know what it's like to have a double life like this. An intense bond to home, an intense bond to here. Nancy Jane's words upon my return to Springdale sum it up best: "Welcome home, I mean, welcome back." Which is it, I wonder? Or is this a lick to center of the Tootsie Pop situation: Will the world ever know?

I revert to last blog I wrote when I was home:

Martyr Jim Elliot once said, "Wherever you go, be all there." I guess that's how I feel with this. It's a bittersweet existence, this bifurcated life of mine. And I know that eventually, one side will have to win out. Growing up takes no prisnors. But hey, here's to a new semester with new prospects, new hopes, new dreams, and new evidences of God at work. I once heard Erwin McManus preach a sermon about how the center of God's will is a dangerous place to be. With that in mind, here's to a dangerous new year.

As we say in the West, Hasta luego.