Last Goodbyes

Yet another farewell dinner.
With another pastor.
I've had lunch with a dozen pastors in the past month, saying goodbye.

With each farewell, the hugs have been warmer, tighter and longer.
A mysterious lump forms in my throat.
And an odd salty discharge escapes my eyes.

Sadness stalks me during these goodbyes.

We have lived in Vancouver for 12 years. All of our kids have been born here.

And my friends.
My friends who have been there for me in the good and the bad.
And it is in the bad, that true friendships are discovered.

When the ground beneath your feet is unsteady, your friends hold you steady.

And I have so many who held me. Held us - two years ago when our ground shook.
A fissure in a small church developed into an uncrossable crevice. 
Forced to walk away from a church into an unknown future.
Unknown, but not unknowable. It becomes knowable over time.
And now, we step into the future. More accurately we drive towards a future in the East.

A horizon of newness and unknowns.
And the last goodbyes will be replaced with first hellos.