Tearful Goodbyes

The good-byes never get easier.

We call my oldest sister, Peg, “the boss.”  At 4’11”, she’s the smallest of us all, but she always knows what needs to be done and has no problem telling Jo and Bren and me how to do it.  Peg has practiced this no-nonsense bossiness for most of her 78 years and has it down to a fine art.

I had never seen her cry. 

Not until recently, on the day when I was leaving them…    Right there in Cracker Barrel, my matter-of-fact, tell-it-like-it-is, older little sister, began to quietly weep as she prayed for me.

As we prepare to leave for the Democratic Republic of Congo on February 15, there is true excitement in our hearts.  Our colleagues Jeff and Barbara have found us a wonderful apartment.  We can’t wait to tell God’s story in DRC and to train others to tell His story.   And then to watch with anticipation while our amazing God does amazing things through the power of His spoken Word.

But in the midst of our excitement there is profound sadness like we’ve never experienced before.

So through our tears, we find ourselves revisiting our call. 

Do we still feel “compelled by the Spirit” as the apostle Paul did in Acts 20 – not knowing what will happen to us in this new place, and certainly not knowing what the coming years will bring to our precious family that we leave behind?

Yes, that constraint is still there.  That compelling tug of the heart still pulls us to places and people who have never heard His story in ways that they can understand.

Do we still consider our lives worth nothing to us, as did Paul?

Yes, we still believe our greatest aim is to complete the task the Lord Jesus has given us, that of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

So then, maybe tearful farewells are not always bad -- even if they are hard.

Not when they nudge us to re-examine our life’s call.

Not when they cause us to reflect on the race that we’re running.

Not when they lead us to renew our commitment to share His story with those who’ve never heard.

Those difficult, weepy good-byes remind us that obedience to Him is absolutely the most important thing in our lives...

...even when it means leaving behind our beloved family.