With Hope - - -

Yesterday I was reminded of just how often two very different feelings can exist at the same time. Yesterday was the first time it really seemed odd to have one less pastor around - I kept having people talk about the fact that Terry wouldn't be around for the school year, and just seeing all the spots that now only Steve's name and my name remain on some of the confirmation stuff, on letters, etc. But, at the same time, yesterday was one of the first days that it really seemed "normal" - as if I was being reminded that life still goes on even when pieces of it are changing or being taken out of the equation.

I was on my way back from the dentist this morning as I was musing over all of this - being excited about the fall, and a song popped into my head - one by Steven Curtis Chapman called "With Hope." The song refers more to losing a loved one, but it wasn't that I feel that way about the situation, it was the phrasing that made me think of it. The chorus is as follows:

And we can cry with hope,
we can say goodbye with hope,
cuz' we know our goodbye is not the end, no
and we can grieve with hope,
because we believe with hope,
there's a place where we'll see your face again.

It was the first line that caught my attention - "crying and grieving with hope." What an odd concept - I mean, we have heard the idea of happy tears, but this is not the same - it is seeing that yes, the situation at hand may be difficult, but that isn't all there is. There is more to it than that. These two feelings can exist together - because the feelings are for differen parts of the situation. It is never easy to have a friend or mentor be away from us after we are used to their presence, but I think often it is necessary for that to happen at times so we can grow from what we have learned from them.

My dentist just happens to be a member of my church, and he commented today that in the past, it was difficult as they watched other pastors come and go, ones they liked, and thinking it would be difficult to find another one that could live up to the one before. But, as so often happens, we are blessed with another wonderful person - and then get the chance to learn and grow from their presence as well. We grow, we change, we adapt, and then we grow some more. The training wheels eventually have to be taken off before we can learn to ride on just two wheels...