“To these memories I will hold
With your blessing I will go
To turn at last to paths that lead home”
Today is the day I leave everything I’ve known, to pursue the road less traveled. During this time I am reminded of “The Last Goodbye” by Billy Boyd. He wrote this song, as a tribute for The Lord of The Rings trilogy. In general I’ve always been a huge fan of this song, but at this very moment, the lyrics could not ring any more true.
Here I stand. I stand ready with your blessing and ready to go and finally pursue this calling. I am currently sitting at the Boston Logan International airport accepting the fact that my time has come to leave. We have one more layover in Houston and we’ll be arriving in Santiago, Chile tomorrow morning at 9:10. My current emotions range from anxiousness, excitement and curiosity. My anxiousness has slowly subsided soon after I got on our first plane. My excitement continues to grow with each passing hour and my curiosity continues to consume most of my thoughts. What will I encounter, how will I stretch and grow myself, and what will be hard?
Now I extend to you my last goodbye for the next 11 months. But you must know this last goodbye is necessary. Who I am currently, will not be the person who returns back to America in a year. So my act of leaving is GOING and welcoming in this new stage of life by simply saying hello this new way of living.
I am reminded of John 14:2-4
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.And you know the way to where I am going.”
These few verses have been stuck in my head as I say my last goodbye. Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them. These poor men were crushed and desolate at the thought of Christ’s going; they fancied that if He left them they lost Him. But in fact they had not lost him, God has been there the whole time. We also know that it is the Father’s house and there is so much security and provision in this.
As Jesus has said, I will be coming back too. Until then my friends remember me. And for the friends I was not able to say goodbye to personally, please know I love you. There has been such little time leading up to the weeks of my race and I want you to know how much I value your friendship in my life. I may be physically gone, but know I am only a Facebook message, email and video chat away to talking.
I bid you all a very fond farewell.
