Note: I found this article to be quite profound and wanted to share it with you.
The following quotes are excerpts from "The Cost is Real", by Patty Stallings.
See the full piece at Velvet Ashes.
- - - - - -
The cost is real.
The endless
goodbyes. The missed birthdays and holidays. The wedding vows said outside our
hearing. The eulogies spoken without us in the pew. The fellowship and
friendship circles that go on without us.
The cost is so very real.
We say goodbye to
a lot. Goodbye to family, friends, co-workers. We say goodbye to a lifestyle,
to routines and rhythms, to familiarity.
We say goodbye to
favorite places that evoke memories and a sense of belonging and comfort, fun
and togetherness. We say goodbye to
shared experiences, those everyday moments when inside jokes are born, secret
smiles are shared, knowing looks are passed between sisters and friends.
We miss out on
those little conversations mostly about nothing that create a whole lot of
something between two people.
We get that. The cost is real.
Somewhere in the
midst of your goodbyes is a sacrifice that you and God have wrestled over. You
laid your Isaac on the altar and there was no ram in the thicket to rescue and
return your sacrifice. Your “yes” stands. Your sacrifice accepted. And not just
accepted, but rejoiced in, delighted over, honored by Jesus.
So, as you
tearfully separate from your support system, walk to the car hand in hand with
your loved one, hug your nieces and nephews a little tighter, promise your
fiancé you’ll be back in ten months...
YOU ARE DECLARING THE
WORTH
OF THE ONE WHO CALLS YOU.
The sacrifices we
make do not go unnoticed.
“God is not unjust; He will not forget your work
and the love you
have shown Him
as you have helped His people and continue to help them.”
~ Hebrews 6:10
Did you catch
that? We show God our love for Him as we serve others. Our willingness to lay
all else aside for His name’s sake is taken very seriously by God. He takes
note and makes crazy promises to those who obey His call.
He delights in my willingness to pay the very real cost of following Him to faraway places.
Your “Yes” courageously and
beautifully declares His worth.
In every goodbye you
and I whisper,
we loudly and clearly declare His worth.
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