Below is a short devotional thought that came across my email today.  Most days I just peruse them and delete them.  This one caught my attention.....it touched a sensitive spot in my heart. 

I want to trust.  I want to love.

Love and the Pain of Leaving

By Henri Nouwen

Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain.   The greatest pain comes  from leaving.   When the child leaves home, when the husband or wife leaves for a long period of time or for good, when the beloved friend departs to another country or dies ... the pain of the leaving can tear us apart.

Still, if we want to avoid the suffering of leaving, we will
never experience the joy of loving.  And love is stronger
than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than
despair.  We have to trust that the risk of loving is always
worth taking.