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About mittonmusings

A Canadian, lifestyle blog with an inspirational twist!

Saying Goodbye

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This week we said goodbye to my eldest son. We put him on a flight that was heading halfway around the world, to embark on the journey of a lifetime. He’ll be gone for about 6 months — learning, and growing, and serving others. He’s gonna love it! The hubby and I have been debating “goodbyes” for the last three weeks. How are you supposed to feel about goodbyes? Sad? Excited? Anxious? Perhaps we feel all of those emotions. It’s not a debate whether you miss the person or not, it’s simply feeling. And everybody feels differently. We cannot impose our feelings on others. This is oh so evident with grief… and final goodbyes. Each of us handle it our own way — and you cannot rush the process. But that’s a bigger topic for another day.

We’ve been anticipating this trip for some time… and have made preparations: vaccines, paperwork, fundraising, packing, planning, researching, and waiting. You arrive early to the airport (way too early, says the hubby), and despite double checking and repacking, you pray they ignore the two extra pounds of luggage and put you through. Then you have a momentary breakdown (and shear panic) as you check the carefully labelled red folder of “important” documents and discover the passport is missing. Only to discover it is on said son’s person. But said son has disappeared for the last 20 minutes in some obscure airport bathroom…. and you silently curse…. and a whole new set of emotions well up.

And then, alas, the time comes for hugs, selfies, pats on the back, final warnings to be careful as you, yes, blink a few tears back, and watch as your beloved spreads his wings. We call all of that “goodbye”.

According to history, our English goodbye was derived from “Godbwye” a crazy, late 1500’s text-worthy spelling version of “God be with ye” — quite appropriate if I do say so. That is all we really want to say, isn’t it? I put you in God’s hands, and trust that He knows best. It’s really the sum of our mixed emotions. God be with you, until you return.

I’ve mused a little this week about how Jesus’ disciples must have felt when He said his goodbyes. Confusion must have been in their mix of emotions. Why was he leaving this way? How did Mary feel about her final goodbyes at the cross? Was Thomas the one wishing for the red folder of important documents? What about the reverse? What was going through the mind of the all-knowing Saviour as He said “goodbye” to His earthly life to return to His Heavenly father? I am sure He had some mixed emotions leaving His mission to a bunch of confused fishermen and bewildered women!

But — perhaps the “God be with you” phrase was truly coined then, at that moment in history. Perhaps Jesus simply did what He had to do, and then said His goodbyes, knowing that the rest of the future human race will simply have to learn to embark on their journeys with God “bye” our side.

Until next week: “Goodbye” my gentle readers…”God be with you”

The Blessing of Thankfulness

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!! For those of us who are turkey overloaded and too stuffed to work, I thought I would “repost” one of our 30 Days of Blessings emails from last year! It is always a great idea to say thank you, so let’s do it again!

(For those of you who are new to the mittonmusings adventure, we ran a fun 30 days of emails last year, prompting us to a new “blessing” each day! Should we do it again?! Should we try another one?! Wanna get in on the action?! Subscribe to mittonmusings and get a weekly blog post straight to your inbox — and special invitations to campaigns and studies just like this one! Join the adventure here! )

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Say also: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.”  1 Chronicles 16:34-35 (ESV)

 Remember that list of Blessings we made back on Day 2?  Time to pull it out and send some thank you’s to the people on it.  Often we are truly thankful for our friends and family… but we don’t show it in tangible ways.  Send a card (or flowers?) to a person to simply say “thank you” for the influence they are having in your life.  Maybe take them out for dinner.  The how is up to you… but be sure to include the reason why: to say thanks!  This is also a good way to be an example for our children.  Remind them to be thankful as well, by showing them how!

This is also the perfect opportunity to spend some time saying thanks to God for all your blessings.  He is called Jehovah-jireh in Hebrew:  the one who provides.  Spend a few minutes giving Him thanks today.  

  • Challenge yourself to think of obscure or difficult people to be thankful for… like government leaders or your boss, or that person on your “hard to love” list
  • Write some old fashion thank you cards and actually put them in the mail with a stamp!
  • Share ideas with family and friends… get the kids involved or post your thanks on the group chat so everyone can see
  • If you are joining us in October, send a special thank you to your church leader for #pastorappreciationmonth
  • Can you think of another fun and fabulous way to thank someone?
  • Remember to take a few special minutes to thank your Heavenly provider as well

“Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.” 2 Samuel 2:6 (ESV)

The Next Step

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Do you have a fitbit? One of those little devices that count how many steps you’ve taken and what you need to make your optimal steps for the day? Or how much you’ve slept and ate and who you should marry? I don’t have one. We did have a “pre-fitbit” step counter once… I think we got it out of a cereal box. You clipped it to your pant leg and you could trick it into adding steps by swinging your leg or frantically waving your arms. It obviously didn’t fulfill its purpose very well.

Funny how we focus on “steps”. Moving forward, moving back, constantly checking where you are and where you should be going. Now, I am a girl who likes to plan. I like to check off my steps and put the x in the boxes. I follow the list and love instructions with bullet points and numbers. I follow the steps. But what if you come to the fork in the road? The edge of the cliff, and you are unsure of your next step? What happens then?

Perhaps it is a big decision. Perhaps a life goal. Perhaps a next stage in life. How do you feel when you are tip-toe with that edge and your next step will determine whether you soar or fall off the cliff? What happens then? The fitbit doesn’t tell you what to do with your steps, it just shows you how many you have taken. You have to set the goal.

We studied John the Baptist at church this week, and I couldn’t help but compare his ministry to a few people I follow on social media. There were “big announcements” posted and “new projects” to be taken on, and I noticed that life seems to be timeless when it comes to the edge-of-the-cliff decisions. Everyone eventually comes to that point where you have to take the next step. Sometimes you celebrate it, sometimes you mourn it, and sometimes it just quietly moves forward.

If you are diligent, you make informed decisions… you pray, study, ask the experts, debate, consult, read… and then? John chose to end his career of “preparing the way” because the Messiah had showed up! He worked himself out of his job. Some people set the stage ahead of time and contract themselves into a plan or timeframe. Then the time ends and you stop. Some of you are vision castors — entrepreneurial types who love the prospect of something new — and your life just becomes an ebb and flow of projects and plans. Some of us peddle backwards, afraid of the unknown and where the path may lead.

I’m learning to be patient. To plant my steps purposefully. But the journey is hard and the path rocky. My footing is not always secure and I seek answers. What now? Which way? Should I wait here while others catch up, or plunge ahead and take the risk of not knowing the path? A wise person once told me: Just take the next step.