I’m Not Saying Goodbye Anymore

Do you like saying goodbyes? Unless I’m finishing getting a filling at the dentist, I generally dislike goodbyes and the accompanying ache that I feel in my heart at parting from a loved one. But have you ever stopped to think about that ache? That longing for just a little more time together and what it might mean?

It seems like I’ve been saying goodbye a lot lately. My family and I are from Kansas and we recently had the blessing to make the trip from Louisiana back to visit family and friends for some summer fun. Even with two whole weeks of spending nearly every waking hour together, it was over all too fast and there we were saying goodbye again with that familiar ache. “Can’t we just have a little more time together?” my kids begged as they hugged their cousins.

It’s been over two years since my family transitioned from serving in Mexico and yet the memory of saying goodbye to our beloved friends there weighs on my heart on an almost daily basis. Sure I text them and call over the phone sometimes but lately that feels like it only makes the ache a little worse, like a taste of the friendship without actually being able to share time together.

And in an experience of the most permanent goodbye, I recently attended my uncle’s funeral in Michigan. My heart ached for my aunt and cousins as they grieved and said goodbye to a loving husband of 56 years and their father.

While the ache can remind us of the gift a particular relationship has been in our life, ultimately it’s a reminder that this world is not our home. There’s something unnatural about saying goodbye because we’re made for intimate relationships that are eternal. In other words, we’re made for Heaven.

I can only imagine what it will be like to be completely immersed in the very life and love of God in Heaven forever, mysteriously along with everyone else I’ve ever loved. Let’s all accept God’s loving mercy today and run after Jesus wholeheartedly in this life so as to win Heaven and never say goodbye again!