by Sandy Kirby Quandt

With the end of summer comes the return of the calendar school year and the process of children leaving home.

While it has been multiple years since I taught in the classroom, the sense of anticipating the new beginning as the students walk into the room is still there. I imagine those students who are entering the school environment for the first time, or those who are leaving home to attend college.

In both of these scenarios emotions on the part of the child and the parent runs the spectrum between elation and fear, excitement and sadness. Hopefully, our children are ready.

When Pie left home and established his own residence mere miles from us close to the university he attended, I cried. He was ready. I was not. It was the same when he walked onto our back porch one day and boxed up all his G.I. Joe toys. He was ready. I was not.

Perhaps you are not in a place where your children are headed off to new adventures. Perhaps you’ve relocated, or a friend of yours has. Perhaps you’ve lost a loved one or death is close at hand.

Either way, saying goodbye no matter what the circumstance can be difficult.

I imagine it was difficult for Jesus to leave his disciples after spending the past three years of his life with them, teaching them, preparing them, loving them. He knew he had to leave. He knew they were ready for that moment, whether they believed it or not. The disciples grieved when Jesus left them even though Jesus told them that was the way it had to be.

Jesus promised to leave a helper with them. And with us. Someone who would be a source of comfort and peace. His Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost in Jerusalem 50 days after Jesus ascended to his throne in heaven. The Holy Spirit comes upon us when we accept Jesus as Lord.

Make no mistake, however, Jesus is coming back. His leaving was not a permanent good-bye.

It was an I love you and I’m going to prepare a place for you to live with me forever. I will return and take you there.

Do you have a child heading off to college, or school for the first time?

If not now, but you have, how did you handle it? Did you cry like me, or shout Glory Hallelujah? What about when you left home for the first time?

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

So always be ready, because you don’t know the day or the hour the Son of Man will come. Matthew 25:13(NCV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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