Never Say Goodbye

Posted by Molly

People I love are on the move.  Great opportunities.  New Adventures.  Exciting far off places to live and love and work.  These moves are all a good thing.  But change, even positive change, is hard.  And no one likes to say goodbye.

So I don't do it.

I refuse.

One of my favorite things about my faith is that it allows me to believe that when there is love, there is no end.
It's what enables us to get through the death of a loved one.  We know we'll see each other again in heaven.  We know that God's kingdom has no end.  It's just a temporary separation.  I've gone almost 15 years without my mother and I miss her every day but I also know that our time together is not over.  I have no doubt about our reunion. 

And if I can undoubtedly believe that I will see those people who have died before me again in heaven, why on earth wouldn't I believe that a move to say Germantown or San Antonio could be the end of a friendship for me?


It can't.  And it won't.

Keeping in touch with people who aren't physically showing up in our every day lives is hard but it's not impossible.  And when you make the effort to keep the people you care about in your life, your bond with them deepens.  Like everything good in life, going the extra mile to stay connected is always worth the trouble.

My mother was not famous.  She was not a success in business.  She was not the champion athlete.  She was just a mother.  And a friend.  But at her wake the line went outside the funeral home and around the corner into the parking lot because she knew something that many of us overlook.  At the end of our lives we will not be judged by our successes in our careers or in school or in sports.  God will not care if we were rich or famous or beautiful.  We will be judged by the way we treated others.  We will be judged by how we helped brighten the lives of those around us.  This doesn't mean we all have to be matryrs.  It just means we have to try to do the little things.  Showing interest in others.  Being kind.  Making the time for those who want to spend it with us.  Going the extra mile to send a letter or make a phone call or pay a visit.  My mother did all of those things and that's why her wake was so popular.  I know she loved it, too.  No one enjoyed a big showing at a party as much as my mom.  She was only human, after all.

I was in the room when they turned off her life support and I did not say goodbye because I knew our seperation was just temporary.  In life and in death, I believe no time or distance can seperate us from the people who are in our hearts.  I just pray that God keeps everyone I love safe until we inevitably meet again.