Reunited

Those who regularly read my blog know that I've frequently mentioned the pain of yet another difficult goodbye. Working with youth as we do, each year we watch our graduates fly from the nest, and we experience that all-too-familiar heartache.

This year, in particular, seems filled with more goodbyes than usual...not only to our kids, but to several families of friends, as well. You may even remember my post of January (and following), right after we'd received confirmation that our precious friends were moving 3,500 miles away. That was a whole 'nother kind of pain, unlike any I'd ever known.

Through the hard goodbyes and tears, though, God has faithfully reminded me that we weren't made for this world. He has positioned us...spread across His globe, as we may be...to glorify Him and make His name known.

As many of our college kids returned home this summer, it felt (in many ways) like our family was once again complete. As we huddled together with those who had returned and those graduates who were preparing to leave this fall, one of "my girls" reminded me, "We always come back."

And that's another lesson I've learned this year; one that I wouldn't have learned were it not for the pain that precedes it. There is such a sweetness in those simple words, "Welcome back." There have been times when those two little words seemed like such a far-off dream...such an impossibility. As I hugged my heart friend for that final time back in March, the days and months until our reunion stretched before us like a seemingly endless race. But even as I write, I'm waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently) for her long-awaited visit. It's been just 4 months since we parted, but God has graciously provided this sweet opportunity to embrace one another with those glorious words, "Welcome back."

Oh, I know that after the 'hellos' come the 'goodbyes.' And in two short weeks when my friend returns home, I'll likely need to be re-reading this entry and reminding myself of the truth of God's Word. But I can say with absolute certainty that whether I'm saying "hello" or "goodbye," God is using both to stir in me a deep longing for that sweet, sweet someday when we'll see Him face to face and there will be no more tears or death or pain or goodbyes.

And I remind myself: Life is short. Eternity is long.