Goodbye, Hello!
By Bethanne Mostad, Office of Community Formation Event Coordinator
Good bye, Aurevoir, Blessings….However you say it, saying Good Bye is hard for most and yet there’s anticipation for what the future holds. Saying “Good-bye” is what about 34 families and 31 single students did in May of this year at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Often times, we neglect to really process what goes on in our hearts during the “good bye” seasons. There’s something transformative, beautiful even, that happens when we look back to appreciate what was and what is now from these moments together here. There is a quote by Maya Angelou that says, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Transformation that happened in those saying good bye was at times in the form of struggle and other times in the form of laughter or a smile.
The anticipation for what is to come is somewhat the same for those leaving as well as those coming to Asbury for the first time. This summer/fall we are welcoming nearly 27 women and 29 men into single housing and about 40 families and counting. It is with great anticipation they come from all around the world to the doorsteps of these dwellings. The anticipation is also a part of the process of transition as they are saying “good-bye” to people, places, and things and saying, “Hello, Bonjour…” to a new something. For some, it is with great hesitancy, for others, great joy to be arriving here.
In the Office of Community Formation, it is a great joy for us to welcome these new faces with open arms to help them know they belong here, are welcome here, so they can transform and experience the fullness of what God has for them here. Part of the initial welcoming arms of love are the ones who help move their belongings and bring them meals. Jesus says in Galatians 5:14 “The entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, Love your neighbor as yourself.” It has been beautiful to me to watch this happen week in and out as the community surrounds these new ones with tangible acts of love for their neighbors. “Good-bye” to those who have moved on to their new journeys and “Hello” to the ones who are just getting started here. Both are saying goodbye, both are saying hello…and all will never be the same.
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