Day 8: The Departure of Friends

Acts 20:22: (NIV) “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.”

There is constant turnover of personnel on a sea-going carrier. With more than 5,200 personnel, that is a given. As you might imagine, sailors become extremely close. In close quarters, we share the joys and sorrows of life, while deployed away from our families and loved ones. There are few bonds as strong as those between shipmates. When we make friends and those friends leave, we are greatly saddened. Friend to us all was our captain, who now had received permanent station change orders. The Bureau of Naval Personnel commanded him to move on. A ship’s captain is mentor to some, friend to others, and commanding officer to all. He was all of the above to me. I lamented his leaving, because he and the ship had been through so much together, including a massive overhaul and forward deployment in a war zone. The captain might have experienced some of the ambivalence recorded by the Apostle Paul in Acts. Though we would miss the captain, we sent him away with the blessings of God. Borrowing from the Irish tradition of the Kennedy family (the ship was named after John Fitzgerald Kennedy, former president of the United States), we conferred upon the departing captain the traditional Irish blessing (copied from the Internet). Recite:

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

Questions to Consider:

• Has a good friend departed for other ministry or military opportunities?
• Did you bless them with a benediction?
• Did you pledge to stay in touch?

Reflection for the Day:

• Consider how the Bible says of the Lord in Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave thee…” Balance this against the departure of friends.