Not Good Bye but See You Later

I attended a funeral for someone in my church family today.  It was a nice service.  The church was packed; a testament to the life he led and the people he loved and that loved him.  The older I get, the more I realize that it's the lives that we touch that really matter.  I couldn't help but think of my grandmother's funeral as I watched the family come into the church.  It has been almost 2 years since she passed away, but it feels like it was just a short time ago.  I miss her alot.  My Mom commented yesterday that the older we get the more loved ones we lose.  I'm only 40, but I understand what she means.  All of my grandparents are gone now.  Great aunts, uncles and others that I hold dear have left this world to be with Jesus.  As I get older, I realize that my parents are getting older too.  I couldn't help but to think of that today and wonder how many years I will have with them.  I don't think 100 would even be enough.  We think that we will need our parents less as we get older, but the truth is that we need them even more.  When we're little they do things for us.  As each year passes we begin to do more and more on our own.  We think we have things figured out as we start out on the road of adulthood.  That's when it hits us that we need our parents more than ever before.  We no longer need them to do things for us, but we need them to be there for us.  We need their wisdom and their unwavering love, especially once we have children of our own.  My heart broke for this family today as this wife, these children, these grandchildren said goodbye to the man that they loved.  The Bible tells us to weep with our brothers and sisters when they weep, and I did.  I also celebrated with them the good news that their loved one was now home with Jesus and joining in a celebration like none we have yet to attend.  I also thought of my grandmother, Nanny to me, and celebrated the fact that she too is there with Jesus.  As the pastor that did the service closed, he took time to tell us that he doesn't say goodbye to Christian brothers and sisters who pass away.  He knows that he will see them again.  So, instead of goodbye, he says, "See you later."  Knowing that we will see our loved ones again doesn't make us miss them any less, but it does certainly give us something to look forward to.  I was fortunate to get to spend some precious time with Nanny before she passed away.  We talked about Heaven and the loved ones there that she couldn't wait to see.  She spoke of crossing the river and told me not to be sad.  She told me that she would be waiting for me on the other side.  I close my eyes sometimes and think of her there.  She has a great big smile on her face and is waving to me from the other side.  She isn't waving goodbye, but see you later, and I smile too because I know that I will.