Farwell, So Long, Goodbye

It’s time to say our goodbyes. We are not avoiding them. Long hugs, tears, whispered appreciation are all bittersweet but are part of being able to say goodbye well. I have recently discovered Max Lucado’s reflections on this subject to be powerfully moving.

“…it seems that goodbye is a word all too prevalent in the Christian’s vocabulary. Missionaries know it well. Those who send them know it, too. The doctor who leaves the city to work in the jungle hospital has said it. So has the Bible translator who lives far from home. Those who feed the hungry, those who teach the lost, those who help the poor all know the word goodbye.

“Airports. Luggage. Embraces. Taillights. ‘Wave to Grandma.’ Tears. Bus terminals. Ship docks. ‘Goodbye, Daddy.’ Tight throats. Ticket counters. Misty eyes. ‘Write me!’

“Question: What kind of God would put people through such agony? What kind of God would give you families and then ask you to leave them? What kind of God would give you friends and then ask you to say goodbye?

“Answer: A God who knows that the deepest love is built not on passion and romance but on a common mission and sacrifice.

“Answer: A God who knows that we are only pilgrims and that eternity is so close that any ‘Goodbye’ is in reality a ‘See you tomorrow.’

“Answer: A God who did it Himself.”

(From No Wonder they Call Him Savior by Max Lucado.)