Starts with Goodbye
. . .Sometimes moving on with the rest of your life starts with goodbye".
I'll often tell people that I hate goodbyes. The reason I say this is because its true. I do hate goodbyes. There are probably several reasons for this, many of which have been explored elsewhere on this blog. From the feeling that something is ending to the loss of control, goodbyes are not my strong suit. What I hadn't realized until recently was how much my aversion to goodbyes had to do with my dearth of emotional processing capacity. I, it is sad to say, am a neophyte when it comes to expressing emotions. I've learned that I don't even know how to fight properly. When I became frustrated this weekend, my friend didn't believe I was mad because I started laughing as I tried to reprimand him. My ineptitude in expressing my emotions caused me to grow even more angry while he felt content in his "acceptable" behavior. But I digress, severely.
Although my feelings toward goodbyes may be rooted differently than others, I know that I'm not alone in my distaste. Goodbyes have caused pain since the beginning of time. In fact, in a sense, God's punishment for man's sin was a goodbye - an eternal separation from God's presence. Its why we talk about Jesus providing a way back to God - we were separated from something we once knew and our relationship needed to be restored. Goodbyes are often associated with bad things and we rarely look forward to them with anticipation.
But goodbyes are also necessary things. As Carrie Underwood sings, "sometimes moving on with the rest of your life stats with goodbye". You can't take hold of what's next until you let go of what you have. It's like the third grader who tries to grab the next run on the monkey bars without ever picking up her hand. It's impossible to do. The moment of faith and despair that lingers as the hand moves from one bar to the next is necessary for forward progress. It's a step that must be taken and letting go of what she already posses is required. So it is with us, we must step out in faith to move forward.
Just like the girl on the monkey bars, there's that moment where we're holding on to nothing. As our hand swings from one bar to the next, there's a huge chance we might fall. In fact, in no other time in our journey does excitement and fear mingle so closely together. But the progress that's made makes embracing the fear worth the effort. And the excitement of what's next propels us onward.
The thing to remember is that sometimes we have to let go of good things to move on to even better. Letting go is not acknowledgment of a lack of acceptability. It is, however, acknowledgment that the time has come for something else. And whatever that something is, God has ordained it for a particular time and place in our lives. To miss it, would be missing out on His blessings. To eschew it, would be denying His will for our lives.
C.S. Lewis states, "there are better things ahead than any we leave behind". May this heavenly vision be our destiny.
I'll often tell people that I hate goodbyes. The reason I say this is because its true. I do hate goodbyes. There are probably several reasons for this, many of which have been explored elsewhere on this blog. From the feeling that something is ending to the loss of control, goodbyes are not my strong suit. What I hadn't realized until recently was how much my aversion to goodbyes had to do with my dearth of emotional processing capacity. I, it is sad to say, am a neophyte when it comes to expressing emotions. I've learned that I don't even know how to fight properly. When I became frustrated this weekend, my friend didn't believe I was mad because I started laughing as I tried to reprimand him. My ineptitude in expressing my emotions caused me to grow even more angry while he felt content in his "acceptable" behavior. But I digress, severely.
Although my feelings toward goodbyes may be rooted differently than others, I know that I'm not alone in my distaste. Goodbyes have caused pain since the beginning of time. In fact, in a sense, God's punishment for man's sin was a goodbye - an eternal separation from God's presence. Its why we talk about Jesus providing a way back to God - we were separated from something we once knew and our relationship needed to be restored. Goodbyes are often associated with bad things and we rarely look forward to them with anticipation.
But goodbyes are also necessary things. As Carrie Underwood sings, "sometimes moving on with the rest of your life stats with goodbye". You can't take hold of what's next until you let go of what you have. It's like the third grader who tries to grab the next run on the monkey bars without ever picking up her hand. It's impossible to do. The moment of faith and despair that lingers as the hand moves from one bar to the next is necessary for forward progress. It's a step that must be taken and letting go of what she already posses is required. So it is with us, we must step out in faith to move forward.
Just like the girl on the monkey bars, there's that moment where we're holding on to nothing. As our hand swings from one bar to the next, there's a huge chance we might fall. In fact, in no other time in our journey does excitement and fear mingle so closely together. But the progress that's made makes embracing the fear worth the effort. And the excitement of what's next propels us onward.
The thing to remember is that sometimes we have to let go of good things to move on to even better. Letting go is not acknowledgment of a lack of acceptability. It is, however, acknowledgment that the time has come for something else. And whatever that something is, God has ordained it for a particular time and place in our lives. To miss it, would be missing out on His blessings. To eschew it, would be denying His will for our lives.
C.S. Lewis states, "there are better things ahead than any we leave behind". May this heavenly vision be our destiny.
Labels: Purpose
posted by N.A. Winter at
10:38 PM
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