God Be With You Till We Meet Again

God Be With You til We meet again

Saying goodbye has never been easy. Especially when we have

concerns about where loved ones are going, or how long they'll be gone, but

knowing that goodbye is really a pronouncement of the blessing, God Be with

You, can make the separation much more bearable.

Did you know that the word goodbye was formed from the longer

phase, God be With You, during the 16th century? For all those that seek to

bless family, friends and associates with divine help, this unsaid meaning of

goodbye can still remain the same. Go with a prayer for Heavens blessings

from those who care. When the former President of Howard’s University,

Jeremiah Rankin, learned the history of the word goodbye, he wrote the

hymn, “God be with You.” It soon became a favorite of congregations

everywhere and has been sung at many heartfelt farewells over the

decades. For example, at the end of world war a Christian missionary

prepared to leave New Guinea after serving there for eight years. She had

been in prison during the war,,,,,,,, her husband had died, and she was now

returning home, a 28 year old widow, without a single Possession. She

wondered if her mission had been worth while and struggled with feelings of

bitterness.

As the boat set sail she heard the Indonesian voices singing “God be

with you till we meet again.” The words sank deep into her heart and set in

motion a healing of her soul. Such loving farewells comfort those who leave

as well as those who stay

behind.

For many years, at the conclusion of this broadcast, we have sung to

our live audiences and today we sing it to each one of you. God be with you

til we meet again.





Taken from a talk of the Spoken Word on February 4,2006