The Pastor's Blog

From Pastor Tom Heaton's in Guatemala...hope t

Thank you, Goodbye!


Hola Beth Ann! Greetings from Guatemala!

Methodists like to meet. We call it conferencing. Methodists in Guatemala are no different...My Spanish is improving but still very poor. As I heard all these reports and speeches, I kept picking up words and phrases I understood. One phrase that was repeated over and over again was “Gracias adiós” or in English, “Hello goodbye”. I thought this was odd, but I have been surprised by other phrases I have heard here.

On the way back from the morning at annual conference, I asked Dr. Fredy, the Salud y Paz clinic doctor, why everyone kept saying “Gracias adiós” hello goodbye. Dr. Fredy looked at me strangely and then started laughing. “Tom, they were not saying Gracias adiós, they were saying Gracias a Dios… Thanks to God.” I started laughing too! How could I have missed that!

I have thought about my misunderstanding of this phrase over and over again. It is an easy misunderstanding since there is only a slight voice inflection change that makes the difference in word sound. Certainly, if I had been thinking about the context I would have figured it out on my own.

But isn’t it true that we often raise prayers to God asking God for help, and when we feel like the prayers have been answered we say to God, “Thank you, goodbye!” Until we hit another life crisis and need God’s help. Too often we live our lives saying to God, “Thank you, goodbye,” when we should be living each day of our life saying, “Thanks be to God.”

During my first few months here in Guatemala, I have found myself relying on God each and every day. I have an even deeper understanding of what the apostle Paul meant when he said, "God's grace is sufficient... in my weakness I shall be made strong." God's grace is enough for us. In our weakest and most difficult moments, we are able to realize that fact because we open ourselves to receiving and experiencing God's love and grace. God's love for us shines through each and every day. We just need to stop and experience it. God is always there for us allowing us to live each and every day to its fullest. We just need to stop saying, "Thank you, goodbye," and start saying, "THANKS BE TO GOD!"

Paz de Cristo,