But How Can I Say Goodbye?

Coyote by Clay Haney (website: clayhaney.com)

Author’s Note

 

“Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.”

 

--Richard Bach

 

Reflections

 

Can the eyes be the windows to the soul as stated in a traditional proverb? In the haunting picture above, the old, coyote seems to be conveying this truth as he gazes into the eyes of my brother Clay, who took this photo at Muse Hollow. Is the coyote saying goodbye to a friend, searching for a way to communicate with his new friend Clay, he will never see him again, a final goodbye, as he returns into the forest, seeking a place to die!

 

Humans seem to find it very difficult to say goodbye. “Here’s looking at you kid”, the unforgettable words Humphrey Bogart utters to Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 film classic Casablanca, as he stares into her eyes and touches her face, was how Hollywood imagined the way to say goodbye. But in many cultures, it might be considered unpleasant or impolite to look into someone eyes. But the coronavirus pandemic may be changing this, forcing people all over the world to look into each other’s eyes, searching for clues to the other persons emotions.

 

Researchers have shown a plethora of neurological changes in the brain when we are forced to say goodbye, involving several regions of the brain including the nucleus ambiguous, the limbic system and prefrontal cortex. It seems we are wired to suffer grief, sadness, and a whole range of emotions and other symptoms including disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, fatigue, and anxiety.

 

This poignant quote taken from A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken, gives us a glimpse into how C. S Lewis handled the difficulty in saying goodbye to others:

 

“Lewis said that he hoped Davy and I would come back to England soon, for we mustn’t get out of touch. ‘At all events he said with a cheerful grin, “we’ll certainly meet again, here—or there.’

 

Then it was time to go, we drained our mugs. When we emerged onto the busy highway with the traffic streaming past, we shook hands, and he said ‘I shan’t say goodbye. We will meet again.’ Then he plunged into the traffic. I stood there watching him. When he reached the pavement of the other side, he turned around as though we knew somehow that I would still be standing in front of the Eastgate.

 

Then he raised his voice in a great roar that easily overcame the noise of the cars and buses. Heads turned and at least one car swerved.

 

‘Besides,’ he bellowed with a great grin, “Christians NEVER say goodbye!’”

 

How do people with a religious or spiritual worldview say goodbye? Jeremiah Rankin, a Congregationalist, approached this by writing, January 2, 1928, the hymn “God Be with You till We Meet Again.” For many saying goodbye raises all kinds of painful uncertainties. These painful uncertainties lead to the emotion of grief.

 

One of the hardest things each of us will probably face at some point in life is saying goodbye to a loved one. Even if the person dying has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and will spend an eternity in heaven with the creator God, it can still be difficult to let them go. Trust in the Lord and let your loved one know it is okay to leave. There are many consoling verses in the Bible that offer assurance and hope during this time of permanent separation. It is okay to say goodbye!

 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NIV)

 

Silent Prayer

Creator God, guide us as we say goodbye and enter a new beginning!

 

Music

 

This is Not Goodbye by the Sidewalk Prophets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqaXXxp2GgE

 

 

Lyrics

 

I can see it in your eyes that you are restless
The time has come for you to leave
It's so hard to let you go
But in this life I know you have to be who you were made to be

As you step out on the road I'll say a prayer
So that in my heart you always will be there

This is not goodbye
I know we'll meet again
So let your life begin
'Cause this is not goodbye
It's just "I love you" to take with you
Until you're home again

The stirring in your soul has left you wondering
Should you stay or turn around
Well, just remember that your dreams they are a promise
That you were made to change the world
So don't let fear stop you now, 'cause

This is not goodbye
I know we'll meet again
So let your life begin
'Cause this is not goodbye
It's just "I love you" to take with you
Until you're home again

Oh-oh-oh
I know the brightest star above
Was created by the one who loved
More than we'll ever know
To guide you when you're lost

What started as a still, small voice
Is raging now and your only choice
Is to follow who you are
So follow who you are, 'cause

This is not goodbye
I know we'll meet again
Oh

This is not goodbye
I know we'll meet again
So let your life begin
'Cause this is not goodbye
It's just "I love you" to take with you
Until you're home
It is "I love you" to take with you
Until you're home
It is "I love you" to take with you
Until you're home again

 

Have a great day!

Barry

 

Following the River of Our Spirit Mind!

Barry & his brother-in-law, David canoeing on the Cumberland River in Kentucky 

(photo Clay Haney 1979)

Author’s Note

 “By the time it came to the edge of the Forest, the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and being grown-up, it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger but moved more slowly. For it knew now where it was going, and it said to itself, “There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

 

- A. A. Milne

 

“Think of the mind as a river: the faster it flows, the better it keeps up with the present and responds to change. The faster it flows, also the more it refreshes itself and the greater its energy. Obsessional thoughts, past experiences (whether traumas or successes), and preconceived notions are like boulders or mud in this river, settling and hardening there and damming it up. The river stops moving; stagnation sets in. You must wage constant war on this tendency in the mind.”

― Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War

 

 Reflections

 

Our bodies are a river of trillions of cells flowing in an endless stream of electrical activity, as each DNA strand communicates the mind of our creator God to our inward spirit. When me contemplate our existence, we are sitting at the bank of the river looking at our bodies, trying to communicate with the creator God’s spirit.

 

Sitting on the river bank, watching the river of our spirit mind flow by, we notice boulders in the river, impeding the flow of the thoughts in the river of our mind, obstacles to the free flow of thought, causing us to stop and consider alternatives, a crossroads if you will, where our thoughts, our existence can go to the right or the left of the boulder, a new adventure, preventing stagnation of our thought processes, allowing us to grow, to become more like our creator God!

 

As we sit along the riverbank under a shade tree, we watch as leaves fall off the tree limbs above us, into the moving rivers of our mind. We wonder, do these leaves in the river of our mind, now flowing away from us, represent our own stream of consciousness…do they represent the compulsive thoughts that assault us, represent the patterns of habitual thoughts of control, hurts, habits, and addictions, the negativity, anger and fear controlling us and preventing us from becoming one with our creator Gods spirit mind!

 

Oh, creator God, help us to remove these boulders and allow these leaves of negative thoughts to flow away from us, for they represent the obstacles to our journey, as we follow the true course of the river you have carved into the very fabric of the universe, a course that will eventually lead to You, and an eternal existence with Your spirit mind!

 

 

Silent Prayer

 

Creator God, guide us as we follow the river of our spirit mind

 

Music

 

The River by Bruce Doerksen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWyQsQxxvC8

 

 

Lyrics

 

To the river I am going
Bringing sins I cannot bear
Come and cleanse me, come forgive me
Lord I need to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready
To surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

In these waters, healing mercy
Flows with freedom from despair
I am going, to that river
Lord I need to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready
To surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

Come and join us, in the river
Come find life beyond compare
He is calling, He is waiting
Jesus longs to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready
To surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

 

Have a great day!

Barry

Out of the Darkness, the Fruit of the Spirit Appears!

 

Author’s Note

 

“We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand, and it is no good moving from place to place to save things, because the shadow always follows. Choose a place where you won't do harm - yes, choose a place where you won't do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.” 

― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View

 

Reflections

 

From the darkness of the forest, the God spirits emerge on horseback, declaring the existence of an afterlife to the unbelievers, where communion with the creator God is insured for an eternity.

 

Why do so many find it necessary to abuse, both physically and emotionally, the objects the creator God imagined in his dreams, they ask as the spirits emerge from the darkness of the forest…why not instead love each created object as the creator does?

 

The God spirits emerge from the darkness of the forest as fruits of the spirit, shining examples of the creator, demonstrating love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to those who abuse.

 

Oh God, why do we struggle so much with our bodies! We hear the God spirits as they gallop by us shouting shame on you for disappointing your creator God by not being a light to those around you in the darkness…shame on you for not providing to those who are lost the vision of the fruits of the spirit, so they too, might enjoy holy communion with Him!

 

As the God spirits gallop through the land after emerging from the darkness of the forest, they ask why do God-fearing people feel such a disconnect between the desires of their minds and the design of the creator? With tears in their eyes, they cry out to those who ask, who is this creator God you serve? He is…I AM!

 

Silent Prayer

 

Creator God, thank you for the darkness, for in the darkness we will discover the light!

 

Music

 

The Fruitful Darkness by Trevor Hall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SyUY_k8pe0

 

Lyrics

 

"The Fruitful Darkness"

When I look back on those years gone by
All those mountains standing in my mind
I could have folded, could have turned around
But all good stories have their ups and downs

So, I had to find my way through
I had to find my way through
I had to find my way through
I had to find my way through

The fruitful darkness
Is all around us
In bloom

The dark within my dark
Is where I found my light
The fruit became the doorway
And now it's open wide

The dark within my dark
Is where I found my light
The fruit became the doorway
And now it's open wide

The dark within my dark
Is where I found my light
The fruit became the doorway
And now it's open wide

The fruitful darkness (the fruitful darkness)
Is all around us (is all around us)
The fruitful darkness (the fruitful darkness)
Is all around us (is all around us)
The fruitful darkness
Is all around us
In bloom

 

 

Barry