Thank God for Pain

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”  -Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday we said goodbye to three members of our Woodcrest family, and one the day before that. All together, that’s nearly half of the School of Writing students.

It’s wonderful having a group of people who fit so well together that you become a family. But then, you have to separate and each go home. That’s what happened yesterday. We went to the airport together and said goodbye, with only a few tears.

When the remaining nine of us came home, we saw something from one of our beloved sisters. She’d written a note containing the quote above and left it for us. Our hearts broke and, for myself, tears ensued.

As I cried, a thought entered my saddened brain.

Thank God that it hurts so bad. That’s how much the heart-breaking circumstance means to you. If it didn’t hurt at all, did it truly mean a lot to you?

When you’re with such supportive, loving people, the hurt of saying goodbye confirms the good times you’ve had.

Years of saying goodbye and it still hurts. It always will. I can’t wait to get to heaven where we’ll party together without ever saying goodbye.

Still, even though it stings so badly now, thank God for pain.