Time to Say Goodbye
Life is funny
sometimes, isn’t it? People pass in and
out of lives every day… or sometimes, animals, as in my recent experience. I was at my riding lesson Wednesday morning,
again working on training my project horse Sterling. As you’ll remember, I’ve written several
posts about him before. Well, this may
be the last.
I’m
going to be missing two riding lessons because my family and I are going on
vacation, and as I was cooling down Sterling after a rather fast-paced lesson,
my riding instructor informed me that Sterling might no longer be at the farm
when I return. A family of triplet girls
is considering buying him. Fortunately,
the girls take lessons at the farm, so we know that he’ll be in good hands, and
I know the girls from when they participated in a riding camp I helped my
instructor host last year. They’re sweet
girls, and I like them a lot… but still, it’ll be an adjustment. I’ve been working with Sterling since April
of this year, and after so many months of training him, it just seems strange
to think that he suddenly won’t be there on the farm anymore.
As
I was untacking Sterling and hosing him off, I had an opportunity to say
goodbye to him in my own way alone. It
left me solemn, but I determined in my mind to enjoy our last moments together…
the last time I’ll ever pull my saddle down from his back, the last time I’ll
ever pat his warm neck, the last time that I’ll ever spray him down with the
water and watch the white foam of sweat run down his soft dark brown
flanks. But he’s ready for another
rider. My time on him has paid off, and
he’s a great riding horse. I know the
triplets will love him.
But
in my moments of quiet solitude with him, I felt the Lord reminding me of how
short our time truly is with people in our lives. People cross our paths every day, some stay
for a while, and then they’re gone. We
never know when someone might exit the stage of our lives. People pass in and out of our little
worlds. Some move away, some we lose
connection with, some leave this life permanently. How important it is to be sure we enjoy every
moment that we’re blessed with to spend with our friends and family. Our loved ones are all too often taken for
granted. They’re there all the time, and
we suppose that they always will be; that makes it easy to pass over
them as just a set fixture in our lives, but we should never forget to express
our affection and appreciation for them.
They’re such a big part of our lives, aren’t they? So if you haven’t told your loves ones
recently just how much they mean to you and thanked them for being there for
you, maybe it’s time to simply say “Thank you,” and “I love you.” Sometimes we don’t say those two phrases
enough- sometimes we’re left regretful over lost opportunities to speak these
words- but no matter what, there are still people in your life to whom you have
a chance to express your love and gratitude for. It isn’t too late to start. Let’s take the time to do so before it’s time
to say goodbye.
“What is your life? You are a
mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
James 4:14
Photo
courtesy: www.123rf.com
I got teary-eyed when I read this post.
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