goodbyes.

I wonder who said the first goodbye?

It must have been a sad realization & process trying to figure out what to call it. Furthermore, adding that "good" to the front end of bye doesn't really make it good. Just sayin...

I truly hate goodbyes. I don't think anyone really likes them, but if I could skip ahead & miss goodbyes completely that would be great.

I wonder what it felt like for Christ? I mean, we know our lives are temporary & eventually this will end: we all have a life expectancy. BUT He came to earth knowing His purpose. Did he know when? His life must have felt like one big goodbye from the start. I WOULD BE MISERABLE. Only He could have bore that burden. But we're ever so thankful that He did.

Death is another, more tragic version of a goodbye. We already hate goodbyes & then you have to add that they will no longer be on earth. Rough news.

We were made as one body in Him. As all parts of the body work to function as a whole, we all work & function together in this life. Community. True community is never really having to say goodbye. It's meeting again in eternity on day. Not that our purpose in Heaven will be to reminisce & catch-up, but we all know it's never over & it's never really goodbye.

It's amazing that people can mean so much in such a short period of time. It's only been a year for me here at UM... & it feels like forever (in a good way)! Some of the people I've met in the past year feel more like old friends. It's amazing how God can put you in a place where He knew that would happen. Now do I know how long I will be here at this point? That might be a question for another day, or at least for February 1st (the annual signing day). For now I won't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have worry for itself.

-Kristen