A Tearful Sunday and Thoughts on Lightning Bugs

I don't like goodbyes and often try to avoid them. So this past Sunday at church was both a sad and joyous occasion. We had two missionary families who have been on furlough leaving to go back to Mexico and Australia. These are families with whom we are very close.

Then we had a family who have been here attending Bible College ( or at least the dad has been attending ) getting ready to head back to Texas. Bro. Rick has earned his three year degree and he and his family are eager to serve the Lord out west. This family grew from six to eight while here in Georgia. When they came they had four children and Patty was expecting. That precious baby now abides in Heaven where he/she has never had to experience diaper rash or skinned knees. I know it is a tug on the heart of this family to leave behind the small grave at our church cemetary. God took one to Heaven while they lived here in Georgia. But He Who giveth and taketh away gave them two more- a boy and a girl - born here in Georgia now to be raised as Texans. We will miss this family and I will think of them often, especially when I see the lightning bugs flashing above the little mound they have left behind. I will be sure and put buttercups there each February as they bloom to announce that spring is just around the corner. As I carefully place flowers on this special spot of earth I will think of the mother and father, the sisters and brothers who labor for our Lord on the plains of Texas and look forward to that great reunion day. Perhaps I will be standing nearby when the trump shall sound and the graves of the saved and the "safe" burst open and we shall all meet together in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Another sad goodbye was to another soldier who is leaving for Afghanistan soon. In our church circle we have four young men now serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Two are members of our church and two are from North Carolina. The two from North Carolina are linked to our church by a girlfriend and a wife. Our prayers are with the military - the brave men and women who serve our country well. Our prayers are also with the families and friends who stay behind with a heaviness in their hearts each day. They are also serving our country well and for this I am grateful.

So we had a tearful Sunday with a mixture of sad and joyful tears. Sad because we will miss them and joyful because we have had the pleasure of getting to know them and love them and because we have the awesome privelege and responsibility to pray for them and share in their reward. What helps make these sad partings a little easier is that CHRISTIANS NEVER REALLY SAY GOODBYE. As Bro. Charles ( one who has served in Mexico for over thirty years and is now returning for another term) always cheerfully tells us: "WE'LL SEE YOU HERE, THERE, OR IN THE AIR!!"