Farewell (Intern Insights)
I’ve never done well with goodbyes. I’m sitting here racking my brain for something to say that will perfectly sum up this 31 day journey and leave you with beautiful and inspiring parting words, but… I got nothing. Really motivating, right? I keep getting distracted. I’ve been postponing the writing of this final entry all day because I simply can’t yet bring myself to bid farewell. Thinking of this struggle brings to mind another goodbye I’ve had to face in my life recently, one still very fresh in my memory…
My best friend just got married. Yep, he put a ring on it… and then took her five hours away from me to Indiana. Don’t get me wrong, I truly could not be happier for them, and I couldn’t have picked a better spouse for this beautiful friend of mine if I tried. But from the moment I woke up that day I knew; I knew that at the end of the night we would have to say goodbye until who knows when. So throughout all the festivities I pushed the thought from my mind and strived to be the perfect bridesmaid. I avoided tears like the plague, because if I let them start I knew they wouldn’t stop.
After a long day the time to depart inevitably arrived. Now, she may have been on a “wedding day high,” but for some reason when I had to leave, my best friend didn’t appear quite as sad as I felt. At first that stung a little bit, but surprisingly, it made the moment easier. All of a sudden it didn’t quite feel like a goodbye anymore, but rather a “see you later.” It didn’t happen right away, but that evening marked the beginning of my thoughts slowly shifting from a distraught “She’s five hours away!” to a more optimistic “Well, I guess she’s only five hours away.”
So why am I telling you this story? If I’m being honest, I convey it mostly for my own sake. Because it helps open my eyes as to how this departure I’m facing now can likewise be viewed through a hopeful lens. Look at the wonderful month we’ve had. If you’ve been reading and praying along with me each day, look at all the many requests we have lifted up to our Lord and Savior. Think back to every testimony about how men, women, and children have had life-transforming experiences because of their encounter with the Gospel and with Project Hannah. Recall the ways in which God has worked in your own spiritual walk and how he has changed and grown you in your faith this month.
I cannot think of anything that brings me more joy than following Christ with reckless abandon and putting my full trust in Him who created this world and everything in it. Nothing in life compares to the peace and fulfillment I feel when I lay everything at the Maker’s feet and rely on Him to take care of my every need as well as the needs of others. I don’t know about you, but I feel like we did that this month. We earnestly came to the Lord and entrusted Him to aid the problems in West Africa, to free women there from whatever bondage they may be trapped in, and to have His way in our own lives as well. With that knowledge, despite my sadness about this series coming to an end, I can’t feel anything but overjoyed over what the Lord has done this month through these “Intern Insights.”
My only challenge to you is this: don’t stop! Keep praying for West Africa and for the plight of women worldwide. Keep praying for the needs of others. Keep praying that God would guide and direct your own steps and empower you to live wholeheartedly for Him. Don’t ever cease coming to the Lord. I've said this before but let me just say it one more time: there truly is no life outside of one that is lived in relationship with Christ. He cares for you and loves you more than you will ever be able to understand. So keep praying. Because when you do, testimonies like this will continue to resound from every corner of the earth:
“I have come to know the greatest healer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved me from my sins and accepted me as His own.”
I said I don’t like goodbyes, so this isn’t farewell. Until Jesus returns we will persist in prayer. If you have accepted the Lord as your personal Savior, then we are brothers and sisters in Christ. And as partakers in this glorious inheritance, we have Heaven to look forward to, worshipping and praising our Lord together for eternity. I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I have. I hope you’ve been encouraged in one way or another, and I pray that God continues to bless and teach you in more ways that you ever thought possible. On that note, I guess there’s only one thing left to say… see you later.