The Hardest Goodbye
The Hardest Goodbye
Recently, I prepared to board a plane on a mission trip out of the country. As my husband and children stood by at the hotel I prepared to board a shuttle to the airport. Through my thick dark glasses I tried to hold back the tears that were welling up in my eyes as we said goodbye. My little girl being very attached to her mama, had a very hard time letting go. And I thought to myself on that ride to the airport, that was the hardest goodbye. Fast forward, as I'm preparing to leave the mission field and return home, I caught myself looking through those same thick dark glasses once again and fighting back tears. This time it would be because I was leaving children, women, adults of a native culture and language who were learning about the love of Christ for the very first time in their lives. They were hungry for Him. They were hungry for truth!
As I left those precious people and returned home to the United States, I pondered throughout the whole flight about the process of saying goodbye. We Say Goodbye after we have fellowship at church, we say goodbye when friends leave our dinner table and return to their homes. We Say Goodbye as our children begin school for the very first time. We say goodbye to loved ones who are approaching eternity. We say goodbye to friendships that don't always last, and we say goodbye when God calls us to another field. Each of these situations sparks and memory and can rock us to the core if we sat and thought about them long enough.
The hardest goodbye for me occurs daily. I realize how human I really am on a daily basis. I realize daily that my love for Christ has to overcome anything within myself. I prefer to call myself a Christ follower as opposed to using the word Christian. In today's society Christianity has been so dumbed down that we have made it into what we want it to be and not what it was intended. If I call myself a Christ follower the fruit of that is evident to everyone around me. As a Christ follower I am following Christ himself. I am studying him. I am seeking to be like him. I'm learning his mannerisms and his ways. As a Christ follower my daily desire is to die to myself and to take on the essence of who God is.
I can imagine for a parent who has lost a child, that is a tough goodbye. I can imagine losing a parent would also be a very hard goodbye. I cannot speak to those trials and tests at this time in my life. I can however speak to opening our home at God's request to children whom I did not give birth to and after some time having to experience goodbye. I have found that it doesn't ever get easier, but it does get more manageable. The reality is, when God gives us a job to do, our willing vessels say yes. And along the journey of the course that he has plotted for us, in that, we have to relinquish all control of the outcome. When the task is over we have to let go. Sometimes we do have to say goodbye. If God bringing the task, closes a door and calls me away from that task, then I am foolish to try to continue working in that field. At that point I am doing things on my own and not in the spirit of the Lord. You don't water a sidewalk do you?
The hardest goodbye... Is not saying goodbye to people here on this Earth for whatever reason. Rather, the hardest goodbye happens daily when my feet hit the floor and I have to say goodbye to myself, my desires, my wants, my thoughts, my needs, and my will. In choosing daily to say goodbye to myself I am choosing to take on the will of God each day, each moment, each breath. I am crazy about Jesus. My love for him is the overflow that my family experiences daily. My love for Jesus is the overflow in my relationships with others. As a Christ follower it is evident to those around me whom I am imitating. When it's good, it's all God. And on days when it's not, it is self. Some days I lose the battle. But I am able to keep in eyesight the fact that God has won the war.
The hardest goodbye... is to myself and my sin. What if everything you had ever been taught about God was incorrect? Fact: there is no sinner's prayer cited in the Bible. There are no magic words to repeat in order to receive God's salvation and his grace. Without the Holy Spirit, and the conviction of the Lord, salvation does not happen. Salvation is not an emotion that we experience when we realize how wretched and filthy we truly are. Salvation is an exchange. God sent his son Jesus to die for my sins so that I might go free. I cannot go free unless I'm willing to exchange my life for the life that God has for me. Hear me clearly. God does not need us. He wants us, and he sent his only son to die for us. His work should be over. But, because of the love that he has for us he walks with us daily and guides our every step. The world says in Christianity, you can have a relationship with God and walk in the world. I don't find that theme or those words in the Bible. In fact, I find a few good men who were willing to walk with Jesus when it got tough. I found a few good men who were not concerned about their families, their businesses, their daily activities. I found a few men who are willing to give it all up to follow Jesus.
What would you say if I told you that you had to go all the way up the highest mountain with a broken leg to be able to talk to God? You would probably get exhausted before you ever even started the climb. But that's not what God did for us. God sent Jesus down to us right where we are to meet us. You may not have a broken leg, but I assure you that were all broken people. He carries us, he is tender toward us, and he has the best in mind for us.
After looking at Salvation in light of Christ's sacrifice, saying good-bye daily to myself shouldn't be so hard. One day after a while you and I will say goodbye to our husband, our children, and our friends. At that point everything will be final. Everything that has ever been said will just fill the space of time. It will at that point be too late to make changes.
Today I pray that you and I are able to ponder where we were really are with Christ. Have we really exchanged what we want for what God wants us to have? I have been in a place in my life where I felt hopeless and where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so, I tried Jesus. All In. No flirting with the benefits of Christ without putting in the work. Total surrender. Has it been easy? Absolutely not. But I don't find in the Bible where he said it would be easy. He just promised that I would not walk this path alone.
I am nothing and Christ is everything. What is the hardest goodbye for you? Is it people and possessions here on this Earth? What has been your hardest goodbye? Is it in letting self go every single day because of your love for Jesus Christ? Let those around you see exactly how much you love God each day. If you claim to be a Christ follower, do me a favor, love God the way that he deserves to be loved. Don't make it about you. Jesus already died for our sins. We should spend our lives making much of God. What are you willing to say goodbye to?
Recently, I prepared to board a plane on a mission trip out of the country. As my husband and children stood by at the hotel I prepared to board a shuttle to the airport. Through my thick dark glasses I tried to hold back the tears that were welling up in my eyes as we said goodbye. My little girl being very attached to her mama, had a very hard time letting go. And I thought to myself on that ride to the airport, that was the hardest goodbye. Fast forward, as I'm preparing to leave the mission field and return home, I caught myself looking through those same thick dark glasses once again and fighting back tears. This time it would be because I was leaving children, women, adults of a native culture and language who were learning about the love of Christ for the very first time in their lives. They were hungry for Him. They were hungry for truth!
As I left those precious people and returned home to the United States, I pondered throughout the whole flight about the process of saying goodbye. We Say Goodbye after we have fellowship at church, we say goodbye when friends leave our dinner table and return to their homes. We Say Goodbye as our children begin school for the very first time. We say goodbye to loved ones who are approaching eternity. We say goodbye to friendships that don't always last, and we say goodbye when God calls us to another field. Each of these situations sparks and memory and can rock us to the core if we sat and thought about them long enough.
The hardest goodbye for me occurs daily. I realize how human I really am on a daily basis. I realize daily that my love for Christ has to overcome anything within myself. I prefer to call myself a Christ follower as opposed to using the word Christian. In today's society Christianity has been so dumbed down that we have made it into what we want it to be and not what it was intended. If I call myself a Christ follower the fruit of that is evident to everyone around me. As a Christ follower I am following Christ himself. I am studying him. I am seeking to be like him. I'm learning his mannerisms and his ways. As a Christ follower my daily desire is to die to myself and to take on the essence of who God is.
I can imagine for a parent who has lost a child, that is a tough goodbye. I can imagine losing a parent would also be a very hard goodbye. I cannot speak to those trials and tests at this time in my life. I can however speak to opening our home at God's request to children whom I did not give birth to and after some time having to experience goodbye. I have found that it doesn't ever get easier, but it does get more manageable. The reality is, when God gives us a job to do, our willing vessels say yes. And along the journey of the course that he has plotted for us, in that, we have to relinquish all control of the outcome. When the task is over we have to let go. Sometimes we do have to say goodbye. If God bringing the task, closes a door and calls me away from that task, then I am foolish to try to continue working in that field. At that point I am doing things on my own and not in the spirit of the Lord. You don't water a sidewalk do you?
The hardest goodbye... Is not saying goodbye to people here on this Earth for whatever reason. Rather, the hardest goodbye happens daily when my feet hit the floor and I have to say goodbye to myself, my desires, my wants, my thoughts, my needs, and my will. In choosing daily to say goodbye to myself I am choosing to take on the will of God each day, each moment, each breath. I am crazy about Jesus. My love for him is the overflow that my family experiences daily. My love for Jesus is the overflow in my relationships with others. As a Christ follower it is evident to those around me whom I am imitating. When it's good, it's all God. And on days when it's not, it is self. Some days I lose the battle. But I am able to keep in eyesight the fact that God has won the war.
The hardest goodbye... is to myself and my sin. What if everything you had ever been taught about God was incorrect? Fact: there is no sinner's prayer cited in the Bible. There are no magic words to repeat in order to receive God's salvation and his grace. Without the Holy Spirit, and the conviction of the Lord, salvation does not happen. Salvation is not an emotion that we experience when we realize how wretched and filthy we truly are. Salvation is an exchange. God sent his son Jesus to die for my sins so that I might go free. I cannot go free unless I'm willing to exchange my life for the life that God has for me. Hear me clearly. God does not need us. He wants us, and he sent his only son to die for us. His work should be over. But, because of the love that he has for us he walks with us daily and guides our every step. The world says in Christianity, you can have a relationship with God and walk in the world. I don't find that theme or those words in the Bible. In fact, I find a few good men who were willing to walk with Jesus when it got tough. I found a few good men who were not concerned about their families, their businesses, their daily activities. I found a few men who are willing to give it all up to follow Jesus.
What would you say if I told you that you had to go all the way up the highest mountain with a broken leg to be able to talk to God? You would probably get exhausted before you ever even started the climb. But that's not what God did for us. God sent Jesus down to us right where we are to meet us. You may not have a broken leg, but I assure you that were all broken people. He carries us, he is tender toward us, and he has the best in mind for us.
After looking at Salvation in light of Christ's sacrifice, saying good-bye daily to myself shouldn't be so hard. One day after a while you and I will say goodbye to our husband, our children, and our friends. At that point everything will be final. Everything that has ever been said will just fill the space of time. It will at that point be too late to make changes.
Today I pray that you and I are able to ponder where we were really are with Christ. Have we really exchanged what we want for what God wants us to have? I have been in a place in my life where I felt hopeless and where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so, I tried Jesus. All In. No flirting with the benefits of Christ without putting in the work. Total surrender. Has it been easy? Absolutely not. But I don't find in the Bible where he said it would be easy. He just promised that I would not walk this path alone.
I am nothing and Christ is everything. What is the hardest goodbye for you? Is it people and possessions here on this Earth? What has been your hardest goodbye? Is it in letting self go every single day because of your love for Jesus Christ? Let those around you see exactly how much you love God each day. If you claim to be a Christ follower, do me a favor, love God the way that he deserves to be loved. Don't make it about you. Jesus already died for our sins. We should spend our lives making much of God. What are you willing to say goodbye to?
