At one time in the city I grew up in, we had three train stations that moved people across the country on a well-patterned network of tracks.

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

At one time in the city I grew up in, we had three train stations that moved people across the country on a well-patterned network of tracks. 

For some of us, we have the memory of traveling with our parents to say goodbye to family members departing for far away places. I remember the track announcer reading the names of the arriving and departing trains on an antiquated sound system that seemed to reverberate through the giant hall where people milled about looking for loved ones or saying goodbye. 

 I remember the tears on the faces of loved ones and the hugs and kisses from aunts, uncles, mom's and dad's as they said their goodbyes to loved ones soon to be departing. I remember young woman kissing their boyfriends, or husbands goodbye while shedding tears of sadness wondering when they might see each other again? 

It was a simple time minus any modern methods of communicating such as texting, emails. Instead, it was a time where the personalized letter with the lipstick of the loved one over the seal of the envelope or a small dab of perfume splashed over the letter to give their loved one a memory of them.

 I remember the atmosphere of homesickness that was felt by many of these departing families.

  As a young lad, I remember somehow getting away from my mom and dad and walking down the train platform and getting on one of these departing trains and wondering in my scared little boy moment  'if I would see my mom and dad again?'  Just as I thought I would be forever lost, one of the giant people inside that train car reached his arms down and brought me to my dad who stood outside the car I got on. My dad reminded me many years later how this was the most frightening time for him as a parent.

I realized that this must be what it feels like to say goodbye.

When we lose a loved one, it seems like they are the ones standing on the platform of that station and we are the ones inside that train, anticipating the wild adventure of seeing those far away places and looking out the window at the nondescript grey of our departed family members

 As much as we wish, we are not able to bring our loved ones with us.  I heard the track announcer once again,  "Great Northern 2018, now leaving on track 11."  I heard the loud whistle of this locomotive as it was reminding people to take their seats. As I looked up and down the aisle, I could see family members placing their hand on the window, shedding tears of sadness, while softly uttering 'I love you' to their recently departed loved one standing on the platform. 

While the train slowly backs over the departing track, I sense the panic on the faces of surviving family members as they for one final time waved their loved one who was now getting smaller in their line of vision. 

The story doesn't end there. While we may ache terribly over the loss of our loved one, God wants you to know that when His son Jesus died on the cross and came back to life, he for one final moment killed the pain of death.  It was through Jesus Christ that he opened up the door of heaven where we may see our loved ones again.   

As you continue on in this life, God wants us to draw near to Him for our comfort- as though we are hiking through the mountainous valley of Colorado where our Savior occasionally picks us up and carries us when the peaks seem too impossible to climb.  There will be plenty of  God-moments of this journey, and you may want to carry a journal and a pen and if you are tech savvy enough start a blog to help you keep track of those moments.

One day, our heavenly track announcer will announce the arrival of loved ones when there will be tears of joy and happiness and catching up on the times since our momentary departure.