A Farewell

"When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you,
but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

* * * *

I'm not good at goodbyes. I'm just WAY too sentimental on an ordinary day, never mind one that calls for parting ways. And so it was this week. My personal oasis ... a place I've been going weekly for nearly seven years became another casualty of this recession. It was a place where I always left feeling better than when I'd arrived. A place of personal healing. A place where the staff treated me (and everyone else) like royalty. But all things must come to an end.

It was the staff I was most worried about. A few of them had become my friends. We chatted regularly about family--illnesses, grandbabies, daughters and dreams. Initially, the abrupt notice hit them hard. They were suddenly faced with having to find new jobs and (the worst part of a job loss...) with the idea that the work they 'd been doing for the last several years didn't make any difference. I assured them that they had made a difference. To me.

I tried to be a rock. I offered them words of support. Encouragement. I gave them my business card and told them they could use me as a reference. I wrote them notes conveying my gratitude. In the end, they were okay. But it was me who fell apart. I hugged them and cried. No matter how much I tried to will my mouth to speak the words, I couldn't say it. Which is why I wrote them the notes. I think, subconsciously, that I knew that when it came down to the last minutes, I wouldn't be able to say it. Goodbye, my friends. I will truly miss you.