Saying goodbye

Over the course of a lifetime we say goodbye to all sorts of things: people and places, homes and jobs, cherished possessions, hopes, dreams, and possibilities ... And always it seems that however ready we may be to move on, some part of us hates the act of leaving.

I spent this last week with a family of people who were saying goodbye to the land that formed their history, and I watched as each in his or her own way made peace with what needed to be left behind.

Over time, I think, we all learn to be thankful for the blessings that come, not only from the past, but in the process of change: the love shared, the lessons learned, the paths not taken, the gifts that have a way of waiting, just around the bend. But that moment of goodbye is rarely easy...