Grief and Relief

A co-worker resigned and left this week. I'm really grieving he's going. But there are other ways in which I'm relieved too. These last few months have been a hard journey for all of us - and I'm glad that at one level some of that is over. There is too a sense of relief over now being sure of some of the details of the role that we shared. Those things are all deeply true and real.

But tonight I am feeling the grief:

You'll be missed,
You're not there
Across the table
Knowing what I'll be thinking.

You'll be missed
You're not there
To take a walk, down the park
To sort through those thoughts.

You'll be missed
You're not there
with the shared understanding of organisations
and the depth of theological thinking.

You'll be missed
You're not there
To seep those values
into the culture.

You'll be missed
You're not there
To sort through what is happening
and work out ways forward.

You'll be missed
You're not there
To cringe together
to sigh together.

You'll be missed,
You're not there
to dream of the future for which we long,
to create that future together.

You'll be missed
You're not there
For those breakfasts
and other events.

You'll be missed
You're not there
with your icons,
with your broader spirituality.

You're not there
But your impact lingers on
Things are different because of you
You'll be missed.