I have an amazing family whom I love with all my heart.  This past weekend, my family increased to include a new sister-in-law, and oh, what a blessing that is!  I absolutely loved being with my family and some good friends from the States.  Now, the downside about having gone back for the wedding is that I was reminded how much I love my family, which made it very tearful to leave again.

The first flight wasn't too sad though, because I knew that my friend Julie was waiting for me in Chicago to take me out to lunch.  When she pulled up, though, I received a fantastic shock or bliss to see that my dear friend Jenny was in the car with her daughter Charlotte.  During my last semester of college, I had the joy of hanging out with that cute little now-two-year-old, and I've only seen her twice since then!  We went out to Chipotle, laughed, and talked, and then they brought me back to the airport where I bought my second Starbucks of the day.

As I was waiting for takeoff, I felt the tears coming, and as I saw the faces of loved ones going by in the photo album of my mind, I pulled out my journal that I use for praying in color, and I just started praying for the people I was leaving.  By the time I closed my journal, I was well into the flight and I was no longer tearful.  It was a wonderful weekend, and why would I cry because I had spent time with people I love?  Now, I'm or saying that I'll never miss my family and friends, nor that I will never cry again (we all know THAT will never happen), but I'm just saying that instead of crying because I miss someone, praying for that person is a much better thing to do.