Five and a half years ago, I experienced a part of life which subsequently  became par for the course: saying indefinite goodbyes to valued friends.
That first time, at the end of my DTS, was hard. In the 5 months prior, I’d built friendships which were deep, life giving, and joyfilled. Then we said abrupt goodbyes, with little more than hopes for a trans-national reunion at some time in the near future.

The tyranny of distance and the cost of spanning those great distances soon poured cold water on that plan. In those days, facebook seemed an excellent alternative to span that distance, though I soon discovered it doesn’t stack up to the value found in face to face contact… my disillusionment with its promise was so deep I signed off never to return, much to the frustration of my friends and family.

In the time since then, it has been only very rarely that a goodbye might move me to tears. The act of bidding farewell is accompanied by an assumption that someday, soon or not, we will meet again.
It could be said that this is the grace of the Lord insulating me from the pain of goodbyes, particularly with friends deeply valued. He does promise, after all, that we will be equipped for each season He leads us into.
But then, one could also argue that I have a dysfunctional heart which struggles to do relationship well.

What I know, without doubt, is that there are many people in recent years who have been huge blessings to me, and that were I to have an unlimited ability to travel, there would be multitudes of miles flown reconnecting with them.

I’m inclined to be the guy that is so focussed on getting the job done, or preparing for the next thing, that I forget to slow down and value the people around me. Perhaps it’s time to slow down a little,and be where I am today, not where I’m planning to be tomorrow…

How about you? Do you succeed in living where you are, or are you also too busy focusing on yesterday or tomorrow?