The process of starting off on the right foot in Xining (pronounced she-ning) started one week ago. Allowing my kids to spend time saying goodbye to their teachers and classmates was difficult but necessary. While they may certainly see those adults and children again around church, the social group (ie their class) they each belonged to will never be together again. Teaching them how to have closure in their young lives is something I never envisioned doing. The same thing will happen with their elementary school classes and their Sunday school classes. Goodbyes will also happen with their family. Already they have said goodbye to their cousins, an aunt and an uncle. Enabling our children to say goodbye, to grieve what and who they are saying goodbye to...that is for me one of the hardest parts of this life. I'm learning that part of enabling our children to say goodbye is to model good goodbyes ourselves. It is painful in the present but healthy in the long run.
So it leaves me here: enjoying celebrating the Christmas season with friends and family while walking through a season of goodbyes. A jumbled mess of emotions running through my heart and somehow helping my kids with their own thoughts and feelings. May wisdom and mercy, love and grace, flow in my life for this time.
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