I am experiencing grief as I wind up my last couple of weeks in Amman. There's so much good work left to do here and so many more kind people to meet. I feel like I'm just getting an ear for the language and that I've turned the corner on the cultural hurdle. Leaving a place you love never gets easier.
I'll miss many friends, parishioners, the daily mass group, the choir and music classes, Dozan wa Awtar, personal friends, my art classes, neighbors, people I meet on the street. I feel badly for those with whom I have chatted about pastoral concerns. I leave them with God and others to make their way forward. I will miss the possibilities that I see for Jordan and Amman. I get excited when I see steps forward. I like watching the King and his efforts and I like seeing how Jordan is a source of stability in a world that is desperate for it.
With that said, I know I will remain in touch with many good friends and that our lives only move forward towards unity. I will keep in contact with many, but it does hurt to leave the daily ordinariness of life. I'm very excited about taking art classes and developing what lies within. Amman has given me many gifts and I feel very enriched.
We Catholics are a "both and" people, but not everything can be "both and." We cannot bi-locate.
We will miss you much. I too went through a period of mourning when I had to leave but as you know, I worked out a way to return, even though it is just for short periods. GJU finally will give me a contract for the summer course tomorrow! We are somehow here as God's bridges between east and west, to help people on both sides understand, appreciate and love each other. It is a special role and mission. We were not transported here for nothing . . . God has a plan. I am sure you will be back somehow, someway. Jordan and the Middle East now has been added to the gifts you bring to people; as much as I complain about things (i.e. driving here), I know at base it has been a great privilege for me to have this experience, and a great responsibility to use it well. If you get to NYC we can go to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn to all the Arab shops and restaurants, grieve together and share memories and get updated on gossip. The Holy Spirit will continue to bear you on its wings, and has many surprises in store for you! I firmly believe art and artists is one of the Spirit's great messengers and force for good.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad all is working out well for you, Jacqui. You deserve a good contract at one of these universities. I love your Bohemian artistic spirit. Our work does not end whether we find ourselves in the east or west. All we need to do is find compassion and to love others as best we can. I am enriched by being here. I can't believe that I went from a place that once was so foreign to the same place being so familiar. I look forward to visiting you and checking out the places at Atlantic Avenue.
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