It's not goodbye

I am proud of all of my nieces and nephews, but today I am going to write about one of them in particular. Unfortunately, words are failing me at the moment. You see, Chance is going to be leaving in a few days to serve our country overseas as a member of the National Guard. I have watched him grow up, including have to tell him to take a shower when he was a camper at the summer camp where I was a counselor. I have listened to him talk about his dreams for his future as he was finishing high school. I was proud of him when he decided to join the National Guard shortly after that. I was also a little scared, though, knowing what that could mean. Chance has trained hard and well, and the time has come for him to deploy overseas. I am traveling to Mississippi to see him this week before he leaves next week. I want for him to know how much I love him and how proud I am of him. We will be praying for him and his family and trust that he will be in God's hands while he is away from us. And that this is not a goodbye.