GOODBYE 2011

Goodbye 2011

image courtesy of photobucket.com

Repost from last year.

It’s over… no sign of Christmas at our house. It looks like it never happened, although we have some pictures with dates and all to prove it did.

Chalk up another victory for me in my battle against the Christmas tree. I thought about tapping out a couple times, but I sucked it up and walked away with another victory. I had to get extra tough on him this year. He seems to fight harder every year from being sent back to the garage in his box.

I hope I didn’t hurt him too bad… I’ll know next year if he doesn’t light up, I ended his career. That ole’ tree is a bit like me. He’s getting older, a sight stiffer, and he leans to one side more than he used to.

I said goodbye to him for another year. I’ve said goodbye to a lot of things in my life. Some good, some I didn’t want to say goodbye to.

Some of the stupid things I did when I was younger I don’t miss. When I said goodbye to some of them I even said, “good riddance.” Truth is I probably wouldn’t have said goodbye to any of them if it weren’t for the change of heart directed by God.

That change of heart is really a change of thinking. That new thinking the Bible calls wisdom, I like to call, “a heavenly perspective.”

I use that perspective to consider some of the goodbyes in this life. We all said goodbye to 2011 Saturday morning. Some of us were awake to send it off. Some said goodbye before they went to sleep.

My little one and I said goodbye to 2011 with a bang… Literally. We stood out in the freezing midnight air lighting fireworks in the middle of the driveway.

The years are like those fireworks. They burn bright, fast, and then they’re gone… Many people come in and out of our lives over the course of a year. Sometimes we are connected by circumstances or fate for several years. Occasionally we get decades.

Often when we part ways or say goodbye it’s forever in this physical life. Unfortunately there have been people in my life that most likely thought, “good riddance” when we parted ways. I suppose that would be OK if it were for the right reasons. I’m certain that’s not always been the case.

Change is inevitable in this life. We change before we’re born in the womb and don’t stop changing until we breathe our last. We say goodbye to childhood, middle age, and finally old age if we’re lucky or blessed.

Those are the major goodbyes, but we also have the minor goodbyes. We leave our family members for the work day, vacation, college, and when they leave home. It varies from a kiss to an, “I love you,” “Have a good day,” “Be good,” “Be careful,” and maybe an “I’ll see you ย soon”!

As the seasons change so do our lives. With changes come the ever present “goodbyes.” After a parting or goodbye what impact will we have on other peoples lives? Will our existence and interaction have been a positive or negative influence.

Will those people who touched the fabric of our lives remember us as strong, compassionate people of God, or typical humans that blend with the masses and have no lasting memorable traits?

The majority of people are scared of goodbyes. To the lost people who don’t know God, goodbye is the end. For us who know God we don’t look forward to the goodbyes, but we have no fear of them.

Our paths lead across this physical life and cross over into the next dimension. Our goodbyes are temporary.

Where ever your path leads you in 2012 may you be blessed and strong.

Whether our paths cross this year or in the Great Beyond, I’ll look forward to seeing you. We’ll have a nice chat and a pat each other on the back, maybe even a hug.

I think Roy Rogers said it a little more eloquently,

“Happy trails to you”…”Till we meet again.”

Goodbye 2011…