on saying good-bye

Have you ever thought about the different kinds of good-byes?  Different good-byes for different occasions, different people.  Some good-byes are just for around town, a sort of 'see you later.'  But other good-byes are more like the kind that aren't really spoken, they're only felt; a kind of 'good riddens.'  And then there are those that are rip the heart right out of the chest.  The good-bye that's at the end of times as we know it; when we hoist our sails to head out in a new direction or step out of our boats altogether.  The kind that separates families and friends with distance and time.

This season of separation is upon me now; it's the end of times as I know them.  However, as the Lord would have it, I will also be saying yet a different kind of good-bye to a dear friend and special family members.  I will leave them behind sick.  I will most likely not see them again on this side of heaven.  This is most unsettling; these very last good-byes are the most soul searching.

It puts all the other good-byes into perspective.