Goodbyes…
I hate goodbyes. I really do. I rarely say them, even when face to face with someone I may not see for months, or even longer. Goodbyes mark endings, not beginnings. They come with sadness not joy. They lack hope.
So I avoid them like the plague. I try to hold onto the hope that God gave the Israelites as they were held captive in Babylon in Isaiah 43:18-19. God said,
“Forget the former things;?
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!?
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
?I am making a way in the wilderness?
and streams in the wasteland.”
– Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
The verses that immediately precede these verses are reminders. God reminds Israel that He brought them up out of Egypt and rescued them in one of the most amazing miracles told in the Bible – the parting of the Red Sea.
I love these verses – especially the ones about how God rescues and redeems His people. I love them because they instill hope – they remind us that God is with us and will go before and behind us.
When God places a new path before me that He calls me to travel, the words that follow remind me that there is hope, not sorrow.
Maybe we hold onto the here and now because that less clear-cut path that God is calling us to take is scary. The known is easier. Goodbyes are scarier. And, in some sense, for me, goodbyes have always been endings – rather than reflections or reminders of His goodness and faithfulness – His rescue from the life we led without Him. That was an easy goodbye. Saying goodbye to the creature I was before Christ was easy because I could already see the new creation I was becoming in Him.
It’s harder when the goodbye is from something good He has already given us. Something we pursued because He put it before us. Those are the harder goodbyes.
But His word reminds us that a new beginning is His way. He allows goodbyes so that He can give us even more hope. Until Jesus left, His Holy Spirit would not come to live within all believers. Until Jesus said goodbye to the ways of the world, we were bound by the law instead of grace and mercy.
Goodbyes open doors to new beginnings. The Gospel message was a new beginning – a new covenant between God and all mankind. It also marked a new way of coming before God – directly rather than through a man.
Jesus’s teachings were also a new way to see the law; to understand the Old Testament teachings. He didn’t necessarily say goodbye to the law as much as hello to a new way of living it out – in love.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35 (NIV)
There is peace in knowing God’s plan is a new one – that He doesn’t expect us to say goodbye, but rather to remember His faithfulness and trust that whatever path He has put us on is good.
That is hope. Hope in the future God calls us to – the path that may seem less certain – or maybe just less clear-cut.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
There is peace in knowing that goodbyes are necessary. They are necessary to following the path God has for us – for new beginnings to begin and for us to grow by walking the path we can barely see before us. They are necessary, and they can be sad but they are not endings in the sense that they are left behind. Rather, they are, like the history the Israelites took with them as they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, reminders of the plan God has for us – one to give us hope and a future.
So, for now, as I follow another path God has placed before me, I say to the women who have read what God has given me on this path at Laced with Grace, “Thank you!” Thank you for the love and support over the past year. And for the women of Laced with Grace who put this site and devotional together – who have embraced me and given me a space to write, I love you – I love what you have grown at Laced with Grace and how God has used Laced with Grace to grow me. I love all that you do for all of us who write and all of us who read Laced with Grace.
And goodbye… for now.
May you be sweetly blessed in all you do.
I can relate to your comments about saying goodbye. Goodbyes have often meant the end for me. So many people have walked out of my life and I’m like the loyal puppy who doesn’t like left alone. Like the puppy, who droops his head and eyes that kill you – “you’ll come back soon, won’t you?” But, I know that sometimes goodbyes are very necessary. I am excited to read here that new paths are being opened to you by God. He for sure knows HIS plans for us. I’m grateful for the time you were here and shared. Hope to see you somewhere out there soon (if not here again) sharing your thought provoking words of truth. Thank you and may God bless your new path richly.
I too hate goodbyes. My mother’s side of the family are “cryers”. We cry over good things and bad or sad things. We cry when we see a total stranger cry…. and now, reading your “goodbye” has made me cry! Though we are sad to see you leave our team, we know that the Lord has wonderful plans for you and you are following His leading. Please know that you will be greatly missed. You have blessed so many lives already and will continue to bless in your future endevores.
Thank you for your faithful service to our Lord and Savior.
Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. Love Laced with Grace and honored to be a part of it!
We will miss you Niccol, but I know that you are following God’s path for your life. Thank you for sharing your heart with us over the past year.
What a beautiful farewell. You will be missed Niccol, but I know God has His hand upon you and He will direct your paths. Thank you for your faithfulness and friendship to all of us here at Laced with Grace! Blessings!