June 4

Absence

But now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, “Where are you going?” Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  ––John 16:5-7

I’ve always been on the fence about the old expression, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” When I began my career working in the health industry, I traveled a lot and was away from Chrissy and my young (at the time) children. I loved the work—helping set up new facilities for a healthcare company nationwide—but being away was brutal.

The quote is hard to pin down, but the sentiment dates back to the Greeks. It was first written verbatim in an 1834 poem called “Isle of Beauty” by English poet Thomas Haynes Bayly. In the poem, it seems Bayly is missing an island rather than a person. We can all relate: returning from a warm, beachy vacation to snowstorm weather.

But what’s worse is missing a person more than a place—or going to a place that reminds us of a person. We all have these absences we carry around like unseen internal injuries. Your spouse or loved one when work or circumstances cause long separations; a high school friend; the “one that got away;” a loved one who died too soon.

Man of God, what absence are you experiencing today? Nah, I’m good, Kenny, you may be thinking. If so, good on ya, brother. For me, I think about friends I have lost touch with, loved ones and family—including two brothers and a brother in law—who have passed away.

I also think about what Jesus told His disciples just before He was crucified (today’s verse above). When Jesus tells them He’s going away, He also tells them that He is sending the Advocate to be with them. The Kingdom is never a net zero proposition—God never abandons us, even when others do. Yes, it’s brutal sometimes to miss a person—alive or dead, short-term or long-term—but  Jesus brings comfort and the promise of never leaving us. 

Who or what are you missing today? Know that the Holy Spirit is never absent, even if people you love are. Does it magically take away the pain? No, but how reassuring to know that we are not alone.

Father, there are people I miss—you know who they are. In the midst of my missing them, I ask that You come close and remind me of Your presence.