Poros, We Love You

Poros, We Love You

Oh Poros, how we love you.

The fun that was experienced on this island was unmatched. To list every single detail of the last few days would account for a 10 page blog post, and nobody has the patience to read that. 

So here's a few highlights...

ATV adventures to be had, and not a single ATV accident! Go us!

 

Countless dips in the crystal clear sparkling waters 

Night drives and star gazing (luckily no alien abductions this time)

Captivating sunsets

Inter tube rides and parasailing (SO MUCH FUN)

Relaxing at the beach

Goat Beach! Minus the goats in the picture

And much much more

It was an adventurous and fun filled few days to say the least. The kind of memories that were made the last few days are the type that stay etched in your soul, and not just because they were fun and exciting and novel, but because they were experienced in relationship with one another. There is a special kind of unity in experiencing these core memories, forever we are connected together through our experiences on this trip. Our small village has gotten even closer. I think God had great intentions when He knit us all together for this time. 

Oh Poros, how we love you, with your sparkling waters that we get to enjoy, with your winding roads where we feel free.

You know the feeling. With the wind caressing your face, a smile spread across it. 

You know the feeling. Of the sun kissing your skin, the water lapping up against you.

You know the feeling. Of the stars sparkling up above you, the crickets chirping in the stillness. 

These are the feelings of being a child, a child who is seen and loved. A child who is known by their creator, the creator who made the wind, the sun, the water and the stars. There is a deep well of healing in being like a child, I think so at least. 

My inner child was very happy in Poros, cruising around on an ATV, playing mermaids in the sea, laughing until my stomach hurt on the inter tube. My inner child felt understood in the playing, in the freedom, in the giggling, she felt like she could be herself and express her needs. There is a lot of healing to be had in play and we miss out on it so often in our adult lives, taking care of the day to day, sometimes just surviving, rather than really living. Our little selves want to play, they want to be free, they want to have fun. I think all of us had moments on this island where little us was getting healed and set free. I am so very grateful for that. 

As I have been reflecting on this trip and saying my farewells to this precious island that holds some of my most treasured memories, I am reminded of this bible verse in Ecclesiastes

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,

    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time. In Poros there were times of happiness, of fun, of laughter but there were also times of pain, of fear, of grief. It’s not just season to season. It can be moment to moment, day to day, hour to hour, there is a time. There is space for the feelings that come into the moment. If every moment is holy, that means every moment deserves to be honored, even the moments that feel difficult, or out of place. There are no emotions that are not allowed to be felt, that don’t belong there. Everything belongs. Good, bad, sad, everything belongs. As future helpers, we get the opportunity to hold space for the emotions of clients, and I believe we have done that with one another here. Even on the glorious island of Poros, there is space for every emotion, in every moment, there is space for us and our needs. There is space for our little selves to feel and to be free. 

 

Oh Poros, how we love you, with the joy that you bring and the love that you have shown us. 

Joy is fruit that we get to experience in knowing God and being thankful for what He has done for us, it's not merely happiness, it is more constant, unwavering, fulfilling. I am thankful to God for this trip, these people, and the breath that fills all of our lungs. Breath that stirs in us and calls us to live deeper, to live more fully, to love well. We get the chance to live fully, moment by moment, season by season, and there is a time for it all and there can be joy found in every moment, when we know the source of it.  

I hope we all can encounter true joy in the pain of saying farewell, not just to the island of Poros, but to each other as the trip draws to a close. Because a goodbye only causes your heart to ache when you’ve loved. Deep love causes for deep aching. How beautiful. 

So here’s to living fully and abundantly, in the way that God has intended. Let us live not just for ourselves, but for little us and for the God who made us! 

“You make known the to the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. “

Psalm 16:11

Farewell Poros, oh how we love you. 

            Katie (AKA Hannah Montana)