The First Big Goodbye

Met with a friend this morning who is in the same spot I was about 2 and a half years ago. The only difference is, her destination is Germany. It's interesting to re-live such life defining moments with someone about to experience their own. Leaving Grants Pass for Paris was my first real goodbye. There's something about that first goodbye moment that takes hold of you. You learn to hug a little bit tighter, talk just a tad bit longer, cry more in real life than you do over a movie, and you learn to take more pictures. :) You waste words less on trivial matters and speak words that are more meaningful. You care less about the weather and more about the condition of the ones you are far away from. And every goodbye scene in every movie reduces you to a puddle of tears in a matter of seconds. You just become a little bit more aware of the deep signifance that every moment holds, the profound meaning behind every word spoken, and the inexpressed emotions every embrace contains. You learn that God is your Home, not all friends are lifers, and you become all the more familiar with Paul's words:

"For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 5:4-5)