A Love That Won't Let Go

I've heard people say that if you love something, you have to be able to let it go. Over the past two summers however, I have found the most incredible love in my life that never lets go.

Living in community is something that is completely different from the rest of the world. There are more intentional communities being formed to create places in the world where there are people who care deeply for each other. The community that I live in has a core group that never leave the community. There are also a large number of people who come and pass through the community for the summer or for a year.

I have come for the past two summers and at the end of each summer I find it very hard to leave. I love this community more than most of the other places I have called home over the course of my life. And there is no way I will ever be able to let it go. It also doesn't let me go.

When I leave here, especially in September, I don't want to leave. I want to stay here in the heart of those who love me. I didn't realize until recently how much I stay in the hearts of those who remain here even when I am not.

I expected for my friends to miss me, but I didn't expect entirely for the people, the core group, to miss me as much. They are more used to people coming and going in their lives and I expected I would be just like those who have left in the past. I'm different though because I keep coming back.

When I am able to come back into the community, I have found that I have actually been missed. This is something that I wasn't expecting. I thought it would be easy to come back and then leave again. It is not at all. It is because I love this place and the people so much that I can't let it go. It is because that the people here hold me in their hearts, despite the distance that I sometimes am forced to travel that holds me here and allows me to come back.

Perhaps it is not the greatest part of love to be able to let go but the ability to hold on, even if just in a corner of the heart. A place that always allows someone to return.