Sometimes goodbye is a second chance.
Maybe not a chance like Winnie the Pooh would have wanted....
"Goodbye? Oh, no, please. Can’t we go back to page one and do it all over again?"
I'm sorry, Pooh, we can't. But sometimes goodbye is a second chance at life. Maybe it's just a second chance to breathe. To redevelop something in you that was choked by what used to be.
And goodbye doesn't have to be to a boy or a girl. Maybe goodbye is saying goodbye to what should never have been. A habit? An addiction? A broken thought process? When we say goodbye to what was holding us down, we say goodbye to a little chain that kept us tethered, something that didn't let us from flying free, something that didn't let us live the Christian life we were supposed to.
A note: when I say "Christian life," your mind might automatically zoom to the place that says "Christian lifestyle= vanilla, boring, average goody-goody life, shiny cars and Jesus music." Can you, just for a moment (though ideally for longer), put that mentality to the side? Can you see the life-changing effect that Christ has? Can you see the freedom and the joy that come from life in Christ? Can you breathe in a little whiff of how good that life is?
24-7 Prayer International has a Vision statement that answers the question, "What is the Vision?." The poem was written late one night as part of the first-ever 24-7 prayer event by a man just trying to work out his life. Part of it reads:
"The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 little prisons. They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice. They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won. They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence. They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying. What is the vision ? The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure."
Does that sound like the stereotypical "go to church, do your job, go home, pretend everything is fine and listen to soft music all the time" Christian? Not to me. It sounds like pure missions. Like serving the One who asks only that of us. It sounds free and beautiful.
Goodbye means that we can let go of what we used to clutch so dearly. That we can now breathe deeply of His presence and take His hand. That we give up the crutches of relationships, of problems, of hatred and drama, of grudges, of addictions, of old habits, and we run to Him. We let go of the old and take hold of the new.
But when we do, the Enemy will absolutely, 100% attack us. Here's something that shouldn't be a radical thought, but somewhat blows my mind: Satan hates you.
Not only that, but he will do everything he can to destroy you. To take you down. To make you feel isolated, worthless, and unworthy of love. That's his goal.
But you know what? The war is already won. Our Daddy fought that fight and won already (Exodus 14:14) and will if we need help. But there are everyday battles. The choice to go latch on to your ex. The choice to say that word. Those words. The choice to smile at her, to say hi to him, to be helpful, to complain or not, to lift someone up or cut them down. Those little battles. The ones with yourself are hard too. You have that choice to believe that you are wonderful. That you are beautiful, that you are uniquely and wonderfully made. That you are loved, freed, held close, and known. That God doesn't just love you, He likes you, He's proud of you, He wants to spend time with you.
I'm learning this slowly. I'm learning that I don't have to accept the lies of "you're worthless," "you're not enough," or "no one likes you." I'm learning what the voice of my Daddy sounds like, and I'm learning what goodbye means.
And sometimes, it's a hard goodbye, but when I finally make a clean break with it, I find that peace and freedom that I'm called to live in. And that gives me hope.
Your challenge for the week (if you want):
Find one thing you need to say goodbye to. Just one lie that makes it harder for you to see Daddy (a note: He can always see you, but sometimes it's just hard to see Him and what He thinks of you). Take that lie and find some Truth to combat it, and remind yourself of it every day. Every single day, as many times as that lie comes up.
Goodbye to that lie. (teehee rhyming.)
Prayers and love!
Lauren
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