Good-bye. It’s a word we use many times every day. It can mean, I’ll see you later; I’ll see you tomorrow; even I’ll never see you again. I’ve just returned home from spending a week in Edmonton with my sister and her family, helping them with their two daughters and new baby boy while my sister is recovering from an emergency C-section. The good-bye to my husband and children when I left was a little sad, as I’ve never left them for that long before. I much preferred the hellos with hugs and kisses, flowers and “Welcome Home, Mom” sign my family made for me that greeted me on my return. (It made up for the tearful good-bye in Edmonton, leaving my sister and her family, whom I dearly love also.)The past couple of years have been tough because more than 100 people we have known have died. They were dear friends and a few relatives, including my older sister, who passed away a year and a half ago from cancer. Those types of good-byes are the hardest to deal with because of their finality. Those are the good-byes that leave a void in our lives because someone we care about is no longer there.Sometimes those good-byes are unexpected because of an accident, a tragic event or an unknown illness. Sometimes we have time to prepare because of a diagnosis. Either way good-bye is hard to say. My Aunt passed away just before Christmas. She had also been diagnosed with cancer. We were blessed with the opportunity to spend time visiting with her many times before she passed away. It was a privilege to be able to be with her just hours before she died to be able to say one last good-bye.Good-bye can be a sad word, but it can also be a fearful word. We can be afraid of the future and what happens after goodbye. The Bible tells us that even the disciples were worried about goodbye. In John 14:1-3 Jesus comforted his followers with these words “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am.”I am glad to know that for believers in Jesus, it doesn’t just end with good-bye. There is the promise and the assurance of tomorrow. The final good-bye is here on Earth. But the final hello is in Heaven. What a joyous “Welcome Home!” awaits us there.Rev. Colleen Shearing is co-senior pastor at High Way Church.