Get swept away, just be able to find your way back

I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people that gets swept away in something.  When I'm reading a  good book or watching a movie, the story sweeps me into it's world.  For a few hours, I get to be part of a world completely new and exciting. Take the movie Brave for example (yes, I am using a princess movie as an example).   The story is about a young princess who is constantly at odds with her mother.  All the girl wants is to be heard and have her opinion matter, but pride stands in the way for both mother and daughter so she asks for a spell to change her fate.  The story is so well done that for a few hours I laughed until I cried and lived in a story not so much unlike my own (as far as being at odds with my mother).  

I got so swept up in the story that I left the theater drained.  For me, it happens all the time. I read a good book and the story line takes me into that world. I laugh and cry with the characters, and at the end of the book, if it is a good one, I am left wanting more.  It was the same with this movie.

Then today, I went to church and it was a sad moment for me.  One of my dear friends is leaving this week.  She graduated and is moving on to bigger and better things, becoming a world traveler and continuing her education while doing it.  Today was her last day attending church with me, and next week, another dear friend is leaving to go back home.   While I know that our paths will cross again someday (hopefully sooner rather than later), goodbyes are always difficult.

While I am learning that draining myself is okay, I am also learning to allow myself to fill back up- with the Holy Spirit, love, and friendship.  Being around my friends is one of the best ways for me to wind down from a crazy weekend, and today I got to do just that.  I got to meet some new people and catch up with others.  And at the very end of the day, it was just three of us, hanging out at the park around the corner, talking and playing- not caring who saw us or what they thought of us.

Things like that, after all of the noise and bustle has disappeared, are the best things in life.  Just getting to hang out with those who know you better than most and playing like the children that some of us never got to be is a fantastic way to let out stress and say goodbye.

And I wouldn't trade it for the world.