When I walked into the sanctuary this morning I saw an old familiar face I had not seen in some time. It was the face of our former High School Principal and member of the search committee that called Brenda and I to FBC Paradise. Shaun was sitting with his wife and both of the boys came along as well.
Shaun was the first person to invite me to lunch and to drive me around the community. I played my first round of golf in the area (if you could call what I shot playing) with Shaun as we laughed over some sobs (inside joke.) Shaun and I went to district events together, ate lunch together, and we spent a great deal of time praying together especially as he felt the Lord leading him away from the Paradise community. He contacted me for counsel and prayer about other major life decisions since leaving town. He was and is a friend.
It is never easy to say farewell. I was there during the farewell party for Shaun and his family. Those things are never easy. Emotions run high, words often run dry, and we are left with hugs, handshakes, and best wishes. This used to not be a problem. People lived in the same communities and worked at the same jobs for a life time. Often children were raised in the same towns going to the same schools with the same friends and then got married and started their own families in the same towns they had grown up in. Nobody had to say farewell unless somebody was going into the military, off to college, or they passed away.
Things have changed today. A family might live in several different communities in a life time and have multiple careers in this day and age. We live in a highly mobile society and have all had to learn to say farewell. It is not easy but we have learned to cope. Coaches come and go, principals move on, kids grow up and go off to college never to return. This is a different day and age and farewells are part of it.
This morning during the welcome time during the service one our men told me that this would be his last Sunday. He has accepted a coaching and teaching position in New Mexico. New Mexico! Not only are John and his family moving but they are moving to a whole other state. I watched last Sunday they told people and his daughter wept and wept after the service. They have one son in the Navy and another son finishing up a summer spent as a missionary in Tokyo, Japan. Their daughter is the age of my oldest son. I know it is difficult but God’s call on their lives is leading them away from Paradise and toward His purposes.
In both the same service I was saying hello to a long parted friend and farewell to a beloved member of our church. Life is filled with transitions like that. I am encouraged that there will be no more farewells in Heaven. We read in Rev 21: 4, “And He shall wipe away ever tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death, there shall no longer be any mourning or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
I talked on the phone to a dear friend I have seen maybe twice in the past four years after Brenda and I moved from Lufkin. In Heaven we shall have plenty of time to catch up. We will never have to say farewell at another sad funeral in eternity. There will be plenty of hellos as we see those who have gone on before us. There I will see my mother, baby sister, and grand parents. What a special reunion that will be.
Down here we have to cope with a few farewells. I miss Shaun and his family and will miss the Ward family as they transition to a new life in a new state. It makes me not want to take relationships for granted and to cherish memories and times together. People are precious commodities and often we do not value them until they move or are dead and gone. I exhort you to find time to spend with the special people in your life and tell them how much you value them. In so doing, when we are forced to face farewells, maybe they will be a little easier to cope with.
Shaun was the first person to invite me to lunch and to drive me around the community. I played my first round of golf in the area (if you could call what I shot playing) with Shaun as we laughed over some sobs (inside joke.) Shaun and I went to district events together, ate lunch together, and we spent a great deal of time praying together especially as he felt the Lord leading him away from the Paradise community. He contacted me for counsel and prayer about other major life decisions since leaving town. He was and is a friend.
It is never easy to say farewell. I was there during the farewell party for Shaun and his family. Those things are never easy. Emotions run high, words often run dry, and we are left with hugs, handshakes, and best wishes. This used to not be a problem. People lived in the same communities and worked at the same jobs for a life time. Often children were raised in the same towns going to the same schools with the same friends and then got married and started their own families in the same towns they had grown up in. Nobody had to say farewell unless somebody was going into the military, off to college, or they passed away.
Things have changed today. A family might live in several different communities in a life time and have multiple careers in this day and age. We live in a highly mobile society and have all had to learn to say farewell. It is not easy but we have learned to cope. Coaches come and go, principals move on, kids grow up and go off to college never to return. This is a different day and age and farewells are part of it.
This morning during the welcome time during the service one our men told me that this would be his last Sunday. He has accepted a coaching and teaching position in New Mexico. New Mexico! Not only are John and his family moving but they are moving to a whole other state. I watched last Sunday they told people and his daughter wept and wept after the service. They have one son in the Navy and another son finishing up a summer spent as a missionary in Tokyo, Japan. Their daughter is the age of my oldest son. I know it is difficult but God’s call on their lives is leading them away from Paradise and toward His purposes.
In both the same service I was saying hello to a long parted friend and farewell to a beloved member of our church. Life is filled with transitions like that. I am encouraged that there will be no more farewells in Heaven. We read in Rev 21: 4, “And He shall wipe away ever tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death, there shall no longer be any mourning or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
I talked on the phone to a dear friend I have seen maybe twice in the past four years after Brenda and I moved from Lufkin. In Heaven we shall have plenty of time to catch up. We will never have to say farewell at another sad funeral in eternity. There will be plenty of hellos as we see those who have gone on before us. There I will see my mother, baby sister, and grand parents. What a special reunion that will be.
Down here we have to cope with a few farewells. I miss Shaun and his family and will miss the Ward family as they transition to a new life in a new state. It makes me not want to take relationships for granted and to cherish memories and times together. People are precious commodities and often we do not value them until they move or are dead and gone. I exhort you to find time to spend with the special people in your life and tell them how much you value them. In so doing, when we are forced to face farewells, maybe they will be a little easier to cope with.
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