SAYING “GOODBYE” Pastor Tom

Janet and I have spent our last weeks saying our “farewells” to you all.  It has been painful for us and many of you have expressed that you feel sorrow as well.  What I have discovered is that there is something good in saying “goodbye”.
 
The goodness of a “goodbye” is found in the very pain we feel when we say it.  I believe there are three hidden gifts to be discovered in this pain:

• It shows the depth of relationship we have enjoyed.  If there were no pain in parting, it would mean there was nothing of value that we were giving up.  The pain we feel shows us just what a great gift God has given us in each other.
• It also makes us see what we had that we may not have fully realized.  It is so easy to take good things—even good relationships—for granted.  When something is being taken away from us, we think about it more seriously and come to cherish it more.
• The moment of saying “goodbye” makes us vulnerable and can move us to say honest and important words of appreciation.  When we express these vulnerable things our love grows.

 
Janet and I have experienced all of these things in the last weeks, and it has been transformative.  As your love has been poured into us, we have grown in our awareness of God’s love for us.  As a result, we find ourselves wanting to love others more.
 
Something I’ve appreciated as we have said our “goodbyes” is that a “goodbye” is never final among believers.  We know that we will see one another again one day, because we will share a forever home together with Jesus.
 
The English word “goodbye” is actually a contraction of the words “God be with you.”  It shows what believers are actually doing when they say “goodbye”: they are entrusting one another to God. That is what we are doing as we say “goodbye” to you, Bethel.

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