Today I’m talking about the very painful topic of goodbyes over at A Life Overseas. This is the intro, and you can finish the post here.
~Elizabeth
What do we do when the people we love do the next right thing? What if that next right thing leads them away from us?
When we say yes to God, we must often say no to the places we already know. And when God leads us overseas, we enter a communal life that is punctuated by goodbyes. Just like an airport, the missionary community endures constant arrivals and departures. But God is the travel agent here, and He hardly ever places anyone on the same itinerary. Perhaps we knew this uncomfortable truth before we said yes; perhaps we didn’t. Either way, though, we must now live with the consequences of our obedience.
And I, for one, sometimes grow weary of it.
Read the rest of the post here.
The Trotter Family 
Our missionary child care support liason passed this posting of yours on to us. Although we are not overseas missionaries and are based here in the U.S. with Youth for Christ Military missions, much in your article struck a chord with me. We moved to the opposite coast of where our friends and family and home were. We are too far away to go home for holidays or just for fun. I have had a few of my really good friends who were not able to handle the long distance friendship and keep our friendships going. This has been so painful to me and I do grieve over those very special kinships that were lost. Try as I might, I cannot get that back. Thank you for writing about this. I was also able to pass it along to another missionary family who is in great transition right now.
Thanks again.
Debra
I think crossing from one coast to another qualifies as crossing cultures. (I actually think the research is bearing that out now.) And you’ve definitely been working in a revolving door ministry — student ministry always is, and so is the military. Double whammy there.
I am so sorry for the friendships that were too hard to keep alive over the distance, sorry for those losses. I know they were hard. May the Lord uphold you, always, in all your (many) goodbyes. ~Elizabeth