The Best Kind of Heartbreak

I’ve got this big magenta duffel bag. It’s sewn up along the edges, almost as crisscrossed and haphazard as the trips it’s been on. The frayed lining is only slightly attached to the outer layer anymore. You can see all the places it’s worn thin and stretched permanently from being stuffed too full all the times I’ve lived out of it.

As I start packing for our 5^th long-distance move in 8 years, that duffel bags seems to be a picture of my heart, lovingly bursting at the seams.

Honestly, there’s a temptation to numb myself in times of change. Sometimes, I consider holding back from relationships because I don’t want the pain that comes with any kind of closeness.

But…

This is the best kind of heart break, when the heart bursts.

This is the good part of goodbye.

Our hearts collect so many memories, so many precious names and faces, over time. It’s a blessing, even when it’s uncomfortable inside, to have a life so full of love you can’t contain it all. For God’s people, there’s also the joy of knowing with full assurance that someday you’ll all be together forever.

I don’t think God overlooks any of this in the here and now.

Of all the words God chooses to place in His Word, the beginnings and endings of the letters in the New Testament help me treasure and squeeze in every ounce of love I don’t think can fit into life in the moment.

God Word’s includes greetings and goodbyes. He values these. Does that make you smile with tears in your eyes, too?

Have you read these closely?

Hi, I Miss You

“To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.” –2 Timothy 1:2-4

I’m Keeping You in My Heart

“It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 1:7-8

We’re Going to Keep Up With Each Other

“Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.” –Colossians 4:7-9

In All These Things…

These greetings and goodbyes are all sealed in a fellowship that goes beyond mere companionship. What can distance, time, or change do to break the bond of enjoying each other as good gifts from the Lord?

We have this privilege, and I think that’s what makes full hearts feel light with the Lord.

He designs our hearts to stretch like my duffel bag in those seasons where He gifts us with the riches of friendship. He carries the people we love- who He loves most.

Deep, eternal friendships are worth every bit of hope-filled heartburst that comes with goodbye. 

When People Are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch helped me gain a healthier, more Biblical perspective on the blessing of friendship and relationship. I’d recommend it to…everyone!

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