People come and go in our lives. Love is won and sometimes lost in no time. Hearts are conquered and bleed in defeat afterwards. You win some, you lose some. This is life, this is living.
But not all departures in life are disheartening and numbing. There are a few that are noble, profound, and lovely. Like some in my life.
I grew up with my parents almost always lamenting that they would only enjoy me for 16 years. I would often hear my Mom say that, and I couldn't understand a bit. It was unthinkable to think of death at a young age or even the slightest idea that she has long known what my lifeline was. It was harsh, sometimes cruel, I thought. However, I understood everything in April of 1989 when I left home after high school to pursue college in the city. It was my first real separation from my family and they were naturally anxious. They feared that a strange land will defeat me and leave me biting the dust. Good, nothing of that sort happened. On the contrary, I think I did well. And so, I always say, my life's first departure story was noble. I left my birthplace to prepare myself for life's demands and I did well.
A few months after leaving home, I took on another big leap in my life. I had a friend in the college dorm who was attending a Baptist service and he sort of tagged me along one Sunday morning. I don't know what got to me, but I obliged. For some people, this was difficult to fathom considering my family brought me up a Catholic and I was even an altar boy for seven years, something that should have glued me. But as fate would have it, I joined my friend Terry that Sunday morning. I didn't know I was going to be there for a good two hours of worship, but I had fun. I enjoyed their kind of worship where the Message was the focus of the entire service, and not some elaborate rituals which almost always fail to uplift any worship experience.
For the years that followed, I would regularly attend that Baptist church and even joined some of their activities. For one, I sang in the choir. I gained one of my closest friends from there, a friendship that has lasted for almost 13 years now. And so, I say that my small yet courageous move to depart from what I have grown accustomed to gave me immense joy, and that was profound.
I am patiently waiting for one more departure, this time lovely. And, if possible, one that lasts me for life. I don't know what it will be --- migration, matrimony, Moon, Mars --- I really don't know. But I pray it's going to be lovely this time.
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