Maybe it will come with time, but these good-byes don't seem to be getting easier. Even so, I think I'm helped by this capacity we have as human beings to look forward to things that might happen in the future. I read not too long ago that this ability is unique to people. No other creatures have a future orientation like we do.
And that is probably the only reason I'm actually able to say good-bye to my children.
And that is probably the only reason I'm actually able to say good-bye to my children.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that Shadow has some deficits when it comes to time. If I tell him, for example, that I will play with him tomorrow - all he hears is the word "play." Being the exceptional dog that he is, Shadow can understand a lot. But he cannot seem to grasp concepts related to the future. And I'm not really being critical. In fact, that's how it felt for me today when we put Molly on the plane. All that I could see in that moment . . . was that moment!
Thankfully, though, I can do something that Shadow can't do; I can think about what might come next.
Molly wasn't home very long this week. (Just for the record, she finally got her suitcase on Friday evening, just hours before she had to leave for her trip back to college.) But what strikes me now is how much time of her short visit we devoted to talking about plans for the future. We talked about when she would be coming home again, what the spring semester looks like, what she's thinking about for next summer. As hard as these good-byes are, they are surely softened by future possibilities. And I'm glad that, as a human being, I have the capacity to think that way.
Life would be pretty miserable without a forward-looking perspective. But God himself calls us to see things that haven't yet happened. He assures us that his promises are true. And he kindly tells us that the way life is right now isn't exactly the way it will be forever. We can't, of course, be sure of all the details - but we can choose to bank on a future that hasn't happened yet. I think that's called hope - and it can often be our salvation. In times of pain or loss - or when everything seems dark - or if we're uncertain about what comes next - or even if we wonder if anything at all does come next - God invites us to think about the future.
Even when this present moment looms so large that nothing else can be seen, God gently tells us to open our eyes and take one more step.
For my part, I have no idea what the future holds - but I know that there is one. God himself has told me so.
And because of that, we somehow get through these good-byes.
Thankfully, though, I can do something that Shadow can't do; I can think about what might come next.
Molly wasn't home very long this week. (Just for the record, she finally got her suitcase on Friday evening, just hours before she had to leave for her trip back to college.) But what strikes me now is how much time of her short visit we devoted to talking about plans for the future. We talked about when she would be coming home again, what the spring semester looks like, what she's thinking about for next summer. As hard as these good-byes are, they are surely softened by future possibilities. And I'm glad that, as a human being, I have the capacity to think that way.
Life would be pretty miserable without a forward-looking perspective. But God himself calls us to see things that haven't yet happened. He assures us that his promises are true. And he kindly tells us that the way life is right now isn't exactly the way it will be forever. We can't, of course, be sure of all the details - but we can choose to bank on a future that hasn't happened yet. I think that's called hope - and it can often be our salvation. In times of pain or loss - or when everything seems dark - or if we're uncertain about what comes next - or even if we wonder if anything at all does come next - God invites us to think about the future.
Even when this present moment looms so large that nothing else can be seen, God gently tells us to open our eyes and take one more step.
For my part, I have no idea what the future holds - but I know that there is one. God himself has told me so.
And because of that, we somehow get through these good-byes.