Leaving

How do you say your goodbyes when you leave places? Do you give hugs or kisses, or maybe both? Do you say goodbye, see you soon, or until next time? Have you been thankful to leave but sad to leave at the same time?

I’ve done all types of leaving and we all do. We all have to say goodbye to highschool, some of us have to say goodbye to college when our time is done. And with those goodbyes we tend to have happy thoughts right along with sad ones.

I’ve said goodbye to relationships, ones involving boyfriends, ones involving life long friends, and friends I’ve only known for a short time. I’ve left my hometown, I’ve left my first my first apartment, I’ve left my first home I bought with a fiancé that I also said goodbye to, I’ve left my second home I bought all on my own. I’ve even left my home state. I’ve left rehab (the physical one from my accident) and my very first job. I’ve left beautiful vacation spots where some of my favorite times were had.

Most of the goodbyes we have in life are sad, but hopefully we take the time to feel the sadness and realize that we should in turn feel grateful. Why would we be sad if we didn’t have a good time or experience?

With all my experience with leaving I’ve learned this. It’s always started me out on a new beginning. Sometimes it may not be the beginnings we wanted at that specific time, but with time and the will to keep moving forward we most often see it was beginning we needed.

My point is, endings and leaving are not always welcomed with open arms but we should embrace them for the good there was before whatever it was was over. We tend to look at the sad things and hold on to those longer than we should but we should all practice on being thankful for what have experienced.

And maybe when we think of life through that perspective we will remember to be thankful for the things we have before it’s too late and those things/times are gone.

Be thankful for the things in your life, embrace the times that involve leaving or saying goodbye, and look forward to what God has in store for you.