"Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear.
Goodbye's the last time I will hold you near.
Someday you'll say that word and I will cry.
It'll break my heart to hear you say goodbye.
Til' we meet again, until then....goodbye."
("Goodbye's the Saddest Word" by Celine Dion)
Goodbye.
2 syllables.
Tells of sadness.
And I want you back.
Goodbye.
Don't want this now.
Don't want to need you.
And maybe I don't.
But I feel it.
In my heart.
Goodbye.
Trying to pry me away.
From you.
And I don't want to go.
Don't want to be alone.
Goodbye.
Feel like weeping.
No tears come.
I've already spent them all.
Goodbye.
Indebted to myself.
My tears need a refill.
Don't want to fill them up.
Just means they'll spill over.
Again.
Goodbye.
Hug me, Love.
Don't let me let you go.
Wanting you to stay.
Knowing you must leave.
Goodbye.
Trying.
Trying.
Trying.
Goodbye.
One more tear falls.
Thought they were gone.
But maybe not.
Just found another outlet.
Another place where tears reside.
Or perhaps just another reason to cry.
Goodbye.
I'm still here.
You walk away.
And I stay here.
You turn around.
Don't look back.
Goodbye.
Don't want to say hello.
It always ends in goodbye.
Goodbye.
"Goodbye to you,
Goodbye to everything that I knew.
You were the one I loved,
The one thing that I tried to hold onto.
The one thing that I tried to hold onto."
("Goodbye to You" by Michelle Branch)
I think at first, it's ok to feel sad when someone in your life takes a different road. But, then again, you cannot feel that way forever. There comes a time when you must set the sadness behind and put the future in God's hands and trust Him to take care of those you have said goodbye to.
I have been thinking more and more about goodbyes in the past few months, mostly because I have a lot of friends either going overseas as student missionaries, or staying within the U.S. to be task force, and there are even those who have traveled home to take a break from college. Life changes. It's a known fact. But, change isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can turn out to be the best thing to happen and even if it's not, the lessons learned are vital to the growth of your faith in God. That alone can make the sad goodbyes worth the pain you feel.
So, take hold of the hope that you profess and when you start to feel the sadness come rushing in, grasp onto God's hand. He's waiting to dry your tears and lead you home. :)
(Photos: 1) Tree in our backyard, edited-Boise, Idaho; 2) Me with my Teddy, edited.)
