Sunday, September 18, 2011

Not Goodbye...God Be With You Til We Meet Again!


Bittersweet!  That is the definition of September 19, 2011.  It's always sad to see your children move, but at the same time, you are excited to see them move on to such an exciting time of their lives.  A lot of love went with Logan & Emilie as they drove out the driveway today. So for now, it's not Goodbye, It's God Be With You Til We Meet Again!



We all say the familiar, "goodbye" so often that we may not realize we are using a shortened form of the phrase, "God be with you." Dr. J.E. Rankin, then a pastor in Washington D.C., thought it too bad that we should lose the really beautiful meaning underlying the simpler words.  His melodious song, "God Be with You," was wrought out of this idea to form a Christian benediction hymn. In fact, we used to sing this song at one of the churches we attended when I was growing up as our closing hymn each Sunday. My mom used to play a record by Jim Reeves over and over and this song was on it so I heard it often as a child. Perhaps it brought her comfort being away from her family each time the Air Force shipped us to a new country or location. Today, this song holds a whole new meaning for me. The children that were given to us on loan are now fully equipped to carry on the work that God has planned.  Oh how exciting it will be to watch the hand of God work through them!

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