Goodbye Perth

I am not fully feeling it yet. The goodbyes seem surreal, and it has been pretty easy to push them to the back of my mind. Until of course someone 'rudely' reminds me that I am leaving by giving me surprise farewell parties or saying nice things about me at church or make a special drop by the house to wish me farewell.

And then I went to the Salvos to give away the rest of my clothes that I have not been able to give to my friends. It. hit. me. straight. in. my. heart. in a manner that I haven't felt until tonight. The finality of giving my possessions away to make sure that I can make it pass the check-in counter tomorrow made it real. Saying goodbye to my things and knowing that I will never see them again hit home - hard. 

I am leaving Perth tomorrow. After 3 years of rebuilding my life here God is uprooting me again to another place, another land, another season, another culture and many more new things. How unnerving is that at this age. I mean, I would really love to be somewhere permanent, yet I know that is not the calling that I have for now. And the desire doesn't make the uprooting and replanting any easier.

I am called to the nations, and to the nations I go, not knowing where I will end up at. And I make friends everywhere I go and I say goodbye to them and it all sounds easy and clean cut, but as I am experiencing right now, clean cut is the least of it all. I feel sad to leave this place I have learnt to love, the friends I have enjoyed and cherished and to be reminded today that I may NEVER, I mean, never see them again in this life is a hard reality to swallow. I may see some of them again someday, but I will never see ALL of them again after the real goodbyes tomorrow. This is a hard life. And a hard reality. 

If it was a place I have hated it would have been easy to wash my hands off and walk away. On the contrary this has been a place that has blessed me and filled my heart to the brim. My friends have encouraged, walked, cried, laughed, taught and prayed with me these last few years, and of course have become the source of this very emotional post. 

So goodbye Perth. God has given me a few great years here, and it has been awesome serving you and serving God with you, and I am sure there is more to come. Come over and visit, wherever I am. Matt and I welcome you to our home. May our roads cross again someday, whether here or in heaven or elsewhere on this earth.

I love you.

Grace