SAYING GOODBYE

Saying goodbye is a part of life. Something we do every day. You end a phone conversation with goodbye or some version of it. You leave a person's house you tell them goodbye.

I've said a lot of goodbyes in my lifetime. It's not easy. When my older girls were younger we moved frequently - like every 18 months. Make friends, invest part of yourself, say goodbye. I've had to leave a lot of friends. You stay in touch for a while. If you haven't moved to far away it's easier. If you move any distance it's harder to keep in touch. I quit making friends - it hurt to much to leave them.

Then the girls came along and grew up and moved. Oh man - those goodbyes were hard. When they moved a thousand miles away you didn't know when you would be seeing them again. Very, very difficult those goodbyes.

Nine years ago we moved to Tulsa. We love it here. We found a church - actually God put us in a church at the very beginning and we stayed there. Never visited another church. Skelly Drive became our second home. The people were not just friends but family.

God has another plan for us and we are leaving Skelly Drive. This has been a hard decision for us but we are at peace with it and know that God has something else in store for us. We are not leaving Tulsa. We are however, leaving friends and family. This is one of the hardest goodbyes I've ever had to say. We have plans in the works already for staying in touch with friends. This we should be able to do as we are not moving away - just on.

Last night at church we had our annual Thanksgiving Dinner. I love this time. As I was standing at the back of the room listening to the entertainment I looked around the room at all the people that we will not be gathering with on a regular basis any longer. Each one of these people hold a special place in my heart and it hurts to leave them. Some of them more special than others. I will not be able to stay in touch with every single one of them; but, I will be able to keep in touch with some. Through them I will be able to keep tabs on the rest of my extended family.

After we made our decision to leave, I called one of my dear friends to let her know that we would be leaving the church. After talking to her I wrote the following poem. While I specifically wrote it for her it applies to all my friends at Skelly Drive.


NOT GOODBYE



Goodbye is never easy – leaving is hard to do.
Know that wherever I am – I take a piece of you.

God placed you in my life and thus within my heart
So no matter where I go – we will never be apart.

A piece of you goes with me – wherever I may go
A piece of me I leave behind – know that this is so.

I count you as not just a friend but also family
You will never know how much you mean to me.

You helped me to become the person I am today
Because you walked beside me and never let me stray.

Whenever I was down, you did encourage me
You exemplify the person that I strive to be.

Your wisdom and your love I treasure in my heart
As long as I have those we are never far apart.

I count it a blessing to call you my dear friend
Know that this is not goodbye nor is it the end.




Written by: Kathie Marrs
November 6, 2012