It's Hard to Say Goodbye

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Right now, my feelings are raw.  As I type, my husband sits with our Labrador, Sophie, as she takes her last breath of life.  I have always held the perspective that a dog is a pet and not a person mentality.  Yet, today, Sophie feels like family.

It is hard to say goodbye.  Ultimately, God did not design us for goodbyes.  At Creation, there was no goodbye.  However, sin introduced the first goodbye (that is for a later post).  Since that time, creation has groaned at each thought of goodbye. Everyone responds in his or her own way.  We shed tears, gather with friends, cry out to God, reach for a bottle, or take to bed.  Some ideas of grief are healthier than others.  Yet, the healthier choices do not make them any easier.  In complete transparency, my go to in grief is cleaning.  For those who know me, this might be surprising.  However, I feel that I have some sense of control over what I clean.  All that to say, I have the cleanest bathroom in Hall County as I type.

As I was cleaning, God reminded me that He has experienced hard goodbyes as well.  He reminded me of John 13-17, which is sometimes referred to as the Upper Room Discourse.  This is basically Jesus' goodbye to his disciples.  It starts out by saying that Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end (13:1).  Reading these words, I envision both the grief as well as the compassion of Jesus as he turns to say goodbye. 

During one of the conversations in the discourse, Jesus makes it clear to His disciples He is saying goodbye.  As His disciples start to despair, Jesus does several things in order to help His disciples prepare for his departure. Here are some of the actions below:

1. Proclaims that they love one another (13:34-35)
2. Prepares a place for them (14:3)
3. Promises a Help to them (14:15)
2. Provides peace to them (14:27)

After all of these things, Jesus closes His time with His disciples in prayer, giving glory to God and praying for believers. 

As I reflect on this discourse today, I am able to see how much love Jesus had for His disciples.  He knew He was saying goodbye, but He thought of them first.  Jesus' perspective was heavenward.  In John 16:10, he states that He is going to the Father.  When our perspective stays heavenward, goodbyes are made a little easier.

I would love to take the Disney theological stance and say that Sophie is chasing a squirrel up a tree in Heaven right as I type this word.  Maybe she is.  But, even though this goodbye was difficult today, it reminded me of how much Jesus' goodbye showed His love for me.  I will find grace in the difficulty of this moment and praise God accordingly.




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