Saying Goodbye

"We will miss you."

We heard this in various forms from various people over the last month or so. It was especially concentrated this last week as we participated in the last of our usual activities, my last run with Sandy, my last lunch with Retha, our last Gideon camp meeting and prayer meeting, our last church service and fellowship. Some of the expressions weren’t in words; instead they were in tearful hugs. We had many of those hugs the last few days.

Gary had the camera ready to capture some of those, but he missed them. He will have a few more chances this week as we say goodbye to our family.

I am thankful for these expressions from people. We all want to be remembered.

Not all of our partings were this way. They ranged from cheerful good wishes, through promises to visit, to the tearful ones. Stronger reactions came from people we had shared with more deeply in the time of our acquaintance. I know that the people I remember most in my life have been the ones who listened and cared about me, not the ones who impressed me with their greatness or accomplishments.

The hardest partings for me now are from the people who have shown they care about me.

The Lord has been working for years on my ability to share my heart with other people and to be more caring toward them. These tears from others at our parting show me that He has had some success in that area in my life. For that reason, I am thankful for all these tears.

Repacking

50 lbs?! We weighed our largest suitcase after a trial packing on Saturday and it weighed 61 lbs. Korean Air, our carrier to Thailand, allows only 50 per suitcase. I used the scale to weigh things as I took them out of the case, hoping to get past 11 lbs at least. Since I had to fill the space again, the amount I took out had to be more than the 11 lbs. After a couple of repackings and reweighings, it became clear that the books were going to have to go in the carry on sized checked bag and clothes and other light things were going to have to go in the big suitcase. More things would be staying as well. Now I know my clarinet will be staying. I did get a recorder in, though. Do I want to take my Amplified Bible (heavy) or a book on how to make kites and a couple of children's books? The Bible won. I think I will need that more.

Things continue to turn up around the house that I once thought we would take. Gary told me some things could go in his medium sized suitcase. As he packs the case, though, he is starting to qualify that promise. It is back to priorities again, both in making the time to pack and in choosing what goes. I am thankful for the prayer support we have as we make these choices. With that, I am more certain that what we end up with will be what we need. Of course, He has promised to go with us (Matthew 28:20) and with Him we do have all we need.

:J