Pastor Jim Jackson
Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church
The older I get, the more difficult it is to say “goodbye”
She was a good one, never let me down. We spent hours in beautiful places and shared precious moments. Our lives together began in Belmont, North Carolina. It was a matter of instant attraction, then true love. I purchased the license and displayed our right to legally go where we pleased; and we did, savoring moments to last a lifetime. I often packed a lunch for our short jaunts into beautiful places we explored.
That included sparkling lake scenes and mysterious rivers in the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia. Oh, it wasn’t always easy. Sometimes a day’s labor left us exhausted and empty.
But isn’t that the cost of sharing life together?
Oh, and I took care of her.
She never went without the essentials of a good life. And though she wasn’t the fanciest one around, her simple appearance was a matter of pride for me. There were those times when I found myself just looking at her and complimenting myself for the choice I had made.
Yet all of us know that nothing lasts forever. My body was telling me that the end wasn’t far away. Even my children knew a permanent separation was soon approaching. They spoke comforting words, urging me to look beyond the inevitable event. But dear friends, it isn’t easy coming to grips with the loss of what we’ve loved and enjoyed over the years. No she wasn’t the only one I ever loved; but without a doubt, she was the best.
I stood in our driveway just the other day and watched my son take her away—my 200l Bass Tracker. As his tail lights faded into the distance, I had a lump in my throat and misty eyes. I had come to one of those junctures in my life where one has a choice, try holding on in vain to what has been or looking beyond to what God may have in-store.
I’ve chosen the latter. And it’s not all gloom and doom. There are bridges and piers aplenty all over this beautiful place here where you and I live. I’m gonna buy myself an umbrella, one of those little equipment push-carts, a comfortable chair, some bait, and go at it.
Rabbi Ben Ezra wrote, “Come along with me, the best is yet to be.” Rabbi, make room for a Presbyterian preacher.
The wise author of Ecclesiastes said: “To every thing there is a season,…a time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep, and a time to cast away.”