Dear Corinne,
It is ironic that on the day I write to you, on the theme of ‘GONE’, I find that half the morning has gone before I have had the chance to start writing! So without further ado, I will start before any other interruptions occur.
Of course we all know that ‘gone’ is the past participle of the verb to go and that as an adjective it is used to describe that someone/something is no longer present,no longer available or no longer in existence.
While the auctioneer signals the completion of a sale by saying, “Going…Going…Gone!”, once his gavel has hit the desk the item is sold. In our daily lives time marches on and opportunities come and go!
Latin scholars are familiar with Virgil’s phrase, ‘tempis fugit’ which is traditionally translated as ‘time flies’! Once it has passed, it has gone.
While we are not able to recapture lost time/times we can learn and grow through them and move on from them. With some, we are perhaps relieved that they have passed, but with others there may be a tinge of sadness and loss.
Over the course of our lives we experience many goodbyes. Some are planned and others can occur unexpectedly. We say goodbye to developmental stages, friends, relatives, jobs, homes, locations, animals, personal milestones…the list goes on and on! It can be a challenge to let go of what has been, and to look forward to new opportunities and possibilities, if we are feeling a sense of sadness and loss.
When we lived overseas, many people were on two year assignments and so it often seemed we had no sooner got to know people than we were saying goodbye to them! The American school took this aspect of life overseas seriously and every year as the final semester drew to a close would put on events and activities that were designed to put the GOOD into goodbye. Finishing well and having time to say goodbye, were key concepts that facilitated these times of transition and change.
With this in mind, I would like to invite you, to take time to reflect on the goodbyes/things that have gone from your life. So once again to find a pen and notepad and this time …..
- Jot down the people/opportunities/things in your life which have gone.
- How do you feel about their departure?
- Make a separate list of those you are sad about.
- Can you be thankful for some of these ‘departures’ and the new
opportunities that their exits created?
Take time to reflect on your responses and then in the quiet and stillness imagine taking the list of what you feel sad about to the cross and laying them down one, by one, at the foot of it.
When you have relinquished them, ponder on these words that Jesus spoke to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”(John 14:27 NIV).
You may also like to listen to Empowering and Commissioning, where Jesus equips and instructs his disciples before he finally leaves them.
Let me know how you get on with the time of reflection and the meditations!
Take care on your travels.
with love,
