Family Is For Not Saying Goodbye

Family is for not saying goodbye.

That's the way it's supposed to be. If you are family you love, and you suffer through. You fight, and you make up. You give and you get. You let some things go, and you sometimes pin each other down. You rejoice in laughter, and you suffer in tears. But you do not say goodbye.

The weight of our own sin and judgments of each other is heavy. So when it gets to feeling heavy, you call on each other. You talk it out. You come to an understanding. You figure out a way. You spend a little less here, and a little more there. You ask for someone to forgive you, or you tell them that you forgive them. You embrace even while your heart is breaking. But you do not say goodbye.

You do not have clandestine hook ups with others.

You do not send letters to sever relationships.

You do not pretend that the situation is hopeless.

You do not speak lies about each other.

You do not just disappear without a word.

You do not undermine the family you left behind.

You do not forget what we've been through together.

Family is for not saying goodbye. Otherwise what good is it? I know that things sometimes do not always work out the way we would like them to. I know we grow disappointed with one another. I know that I have failed my family often. I know that some could not forgive me. I know that some have failed me. I know that there are some I've had a hard time forgiving.

If I can shout for a second, CAN WE PLEASE STOP LEAVING ONE ANOTHER?

This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about ... the church. [Ephesians 5:32]

I took it all for granted, But how was I to know

That you'd be letting go, Now it cuts like a knife

--- Cuts Like A Knife, Bryan Adams