Goodbyes

School's out for the summer, and everyone's dispersed to the four corners of the earth, or so it seems. Originally, I meant to write this post about learning to say goodbye to our friends who are graduating. Honestly, I think it was tough for a lot of people to say goodbye, myself included. The seniors who were graduating, unfortunately had the most goodbyes to say. One of my senior friends told me that it was almost easier not to see someone one last time than to have to really say goodbye. That made me wonder how often I say goodbye and don't really mean it. I tend to think of goodbye as the "I'll see you soon, hope everything's well when I see you next." But if I step back and take another look, that's just not what it really is. 


The word "goodbye", it has a sense of finality to it. And sometimes, that could just be the last word we say to someone. I said goodbye to most of my friends with the full expectation that I'll be seeing them again sometime in the near future. And to be honest, that's probably exactly how it'll turn out. For that, I couldn't be more thankful. Recently, someone posted a quote by Jay Erickson, and it really got me thinking. Jay and Katrina Erickson were missionaries who were killed in a plane crash recently. Listen to what Jay had to say in his late April post, "...there is nothing sad about the death of a Christian. The only sadness (and I do not intend to belittle this aspect) is in the loss of companionship by those left behind. And yet to contrast this, the level of tragedy is so vast for the passing of an unbeliever." 


Those words got me thinking. Not about death quite so much as about the "goodbyes" that I've said recently. Yes, most of my friends are Christians, and I know that I will see them again one day. Yet, what of those who are not? What if that last hug, that last smile, that last goodbye really is permanent? It's a scenario that I'd like to deny, but reality won't just go away because I ignore it. Goodbyes are hard when they're semi-permanent. How much harder would they be if we knew that they were eternal? Right now, there are some goodbyes that I left on the table when school got out. I feel like this is something that I'm being called to address both through prayer and through action. Are there any that you need to take care of as well?