One summer morning a decade ago, I left my parents' home in Ohio to drive to Tennessee to begin my first full-time job. On that same day my younger brother was preparing to leave for graduate school in Michigan, and my mother was traveling to be with her mother, who lay dying in a hospital in Pennsylvania. Before we went our separate ways, my parents, my brother, and I stood in the middle of the kitchen praying and crying.

Perhaps that parting was so emotional because we all knew that we could not go back to the way things had been -- the geography of our family was changing. My grandmother was the last surviving member of her generation in our family and so with her death, my parents became the oldest generation. My first job and my brother's enrollment in graduate school were milestones in our establishment as independent adults. The goodbyes that were spoken in my parents' kitchen that morning represented some of life's big farewells, but there are many others.

As we move through life, we say many goodbyes, not only to people and places but also to stages of life and ways of relating to others. All farewells bring a mix of emotions -- life is never the same again, but in saying goodbye we also may be able to say hello to a future that holds new possibilities.

This May/June 1998 issue of Alive Now® explores the farewells that are part of our lives. The sections are arranged to follow the act of saying goodbye. After the introduction, we look at making the decision to move (or having it made for you), then the actual leaving or being left. Our interview is with Joyce Rupp, author of Praying Our Goodbyes.

In the second half of the issue, we look at letting go, maintaining
ties, settling in, and the final farewell of death.As we were planning the themes for the year, we intentionally scheduled this issue for May-June, since more people move during this period than any other during the year. With 20 percent of the United States population moving each year, you might be saying farewell to someone you know who is moving during this period, if you are not moving yourself! But this season is also the time during which the church celebrates Ascension and Pentecost.

As we reflect on the farewells in our lives, it is important to remember that when Jesus bid his final farewell to the disciples, the Spirit came, as Jesus promised, to comfort them and to send them forth in ministry.May this issue give all of us the assurance when we say our next farewell -- whether we are the one leaving or the one left behind -- God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God!

From pages 3-4 of Alive Now®, May/June 1998,
copyright © 1998 The Upper Room®.
P. O. Box 340004, Nashville, TN 37203-0004
Used by permission of the publisher.
www.upperroom.com

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