My husband and our two-year-old son have coined a term for weekends and holidays. They call them “no bye-bye” days. It’s too cute to see their excitement the morning of a “no bye-bye” as they plan their adventures and celebrate the time together without my husband having to leave for work.

Today was a huge “bye-bye” day. My brother, sister-in-law, and their two young daughters are leaving to follow God’s call on their lives in a small, remote Russian state. They’re our closest friends and we won’t see them for many years. It’s been a hard goodbye, to say the least.

I realized on my weepy drive home tonight how much I look forward to being in heaven with my brother and his family someday. Yes, I look forward to the presence of Jesus as I feel His arms around me at last. Yes, I eagerly await the glory of the throne of grace as I gaze upon my Creator, my Father. But today, in my sadness, through the tears in my eyes as I type this up, what I look forward to most is not saying goodbye to the people dearest to me.

Missionary families have this hope when we send off our loved ones. It’s for now. It’s super sad to say goodbye, but it’s for the best reasons, and it’s not for always. Heaven will be the big scale version of my husband and son’s joy on Saturday mornings. Heaven will be one big, huge, forever “no bye-bye” day.