The Reality of ‘Goodbye’
My Dear Lovelians,
Hello, my friends, we meet again. It's been a while; where should we begin? Feels like forever. -"My Sacrifice", tommee profitt & nicole serrano
I suppose forever is a good place to start. Did you know human beings were never created to say ‘goodbye’ to each other? The hollowness like bullet holes in your heart where the presence of loved ones should be was never meant to exist in the first place. The reason: We were built for eternity.
The reality of separation only came into play after evil wove itself into the fabric of the world. For those of you who have no clue what I am referring to and would not mind a little history concerning the Christian faith, check out Genesis 3. Chapters 1 and 2 provide context. Basically, in a nutshell, God said no, but humans said yes and unleashed pain, sorrow, and death into a perfect, tearless world in the process. A vast oversimplification, I know, and sounds overdramatic until you’re forced to say that ‘goodbye’.
Beth Moore described the wrongness of ‘goodbye’ the best when she said: We resist “endings” furiously because a longing for “always” is set in our hearts. And all my Harry Potter fans say Amen. Grief is not picky, either. I used to think mourning was for the dead. I can tell you right now the people my bullet holes ache for are very much alive, so what is the similarity? Separation.
May I share some advice with those of you who currently share my boat? Grieve. It’s okay to be sad. Put aside all the voices rolling in your head and telling you their absence is not a big deal or to “woman up” because that’s just life and you will see them again, or their reasons are honorable (or they’re not and you shouldn’t miss them…but you do). None of these excuses make up for the lost time. Mourn. Tears are the currency of love, one of them at least. Honor those you miss by allowing yourself to feel the empty space. Don’t hide it either by pretending everything is sunshine and rainbows all the time. There is something…beautiful about acknowledging the gift that is a person’s unique presence, discretion implied of course. Like I mentioned in a previous letter, authenticity does not mean everyone must know everything about you all the time. Not everyone deserves insight into your soul. But mourn none-the-less. It not only honors the person(s) but life itself as your soul cries out this is not how it’s supposed to be! I agree.
This is the true hope behind Jesus’ declaration I will wipe away every tear. One day, I will never have to say ‘goodbye’ again. And those I have said ‘goodbye’ to who share my lifegiving faith, I will be reunited with once more. For now, there is separation and loss, but eternity will come, one day, and fix the broken order of the world that demands I let go, of people, of time and togetherness, of life. Jesus made this eternity possible by offering us a relationship with Papa God, so don’t think for a moment this present time is all there will ever be. Eternity will come. Until then, I say ‘until we meet again’. Some of you may bitterly scoff ‘Well that’s just too good to be true.’ To this I respond ‘Darling, it’s too good not to be true’.
Lovely.
Colleen