"The Pause Before Goodbye" - 11/09/2026

Yesterday’s message has left me thinking about the room God makes for us before we have anything to offer. I’d like to carry that thought into a small moment many of us know: the pause before we say goodbye.

Scripture
“We love because he first loved us.”
- 1 John 4:19 (NIV)


Reflection
At the end of a phone call, there is often a little pause. Someone says, “Well, I should let you go,” and both people get ready to hang up. Sometimes that is when the quieter thing finally comes out: “Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” The conversation that seemed finished has only just reached the place it needed to go.

What might become possible if we let a pause stay open a little longer?

It takes time to decide whether a worry can be said aloud, or whether a joy will sound too small to mention. We may start with the safe details and wait to see if there is room for what matters. There are prayers like that, too. We begin with the words we know and only slowly find words for what has been sitting with us all day.

John says that God loved us first. The love we are looking for is already there while we are still deciding what to say. Even the silence we bring to prayer has a place in that love. A whole minute may pass before a sentence comes. There is no need to hurry it along.

Perhaps that is one way God's love changes an ordinary day. In a call or a conversation by the door, someone trails off. We leave the next sentence to them. If all they wanted was a moment of company, there is room for that, too. We can offer a little of the patience we have already received.


Prayer
God of patient love, thank you for staying with us while we look for words. Let us rest in the love you have already given. When someone needs a little more time today, help us offer it with a willing heart. Amen.