don't wait 'til you say goodbye

the title of this post comes from another blog i happened to read today, and some words resonated with me.

[S]aying goodbye fundamentally changes our perspective. Why is it that we stop and give thanks when we are about to lose something?
....
All this reminded me of the Mike and Mechanics 80s anthem, ‘The living years’. For those who can't remember (or weren't there), it was a song about a guy looking back after his father's death, and realizing that he wished he'd said more to his dad while he was still alive. Why is it that we are so self-centred—that we only stop to give thanks when something is being taken away from us?

he was writing about saying goodbye as a result of leaving a ministry that he had been involved in for some years. but as he alluded to in the latter quote, it's the same sort of thing when someone in your life stops living.

my (paternal) grandmother passed away this morning. i can't say i knew her very well... though having lived only a stone's throw away for the first 10-odd years of my life in Australia, and not that much further away thereafter, i can't help but feel i should have made more of an effort to change that situation, despite the generational and language gaps that exist.

i tend to be one of those strong(?), silent types who doesn't typically say very much. this is a reminder that i need to work on verbalising more, especially in thanksgiving. i can start by giving thanks for the life my 'ah ma' lived, most of which i know about through stories my father tells of his younger years. i am thankful for the legacy that she and my 'ah gong' gave to their children in living their lives under the headship of Christ. E and i pray we may be able to continue such a legacy, should God bless us with such opportunity/ies.

[edit 10.10.2008 - a friend (who will soon have the opportunity) has just written something that echoes the legacy thought.]