After a two-week break, Tom Van Wyen is back in the saddle — his words — with a new Harmony Project essay that may be his most personal yet. Tom has been reflecting on the passing of his first cousin, Mark Kennedy (Sayville High School Class of 1975), and of a colleague who died suddenly and unexpectedly, and this week’s essay is his attempt to offer comfort to anyone walking through a similar loss.

“Until We Meet Again” begins far from Sayville, on the bridge of the submarine USS Trepang in the North Atlantic, where a pod of dolphins raced alongside the boat — leaping into view for a moment, then slipping beneath the choppy water. Their disappearance never brought sadness, Tom writes, because he knew they were still there. Before long, they would surface again.

From that memory comes the essay’s quiet conviction: “Not everything that disappears is gone. Sometimes it has merely passed beyond our sight.” That is why, when Tom thinks of those he has loved and lost, he does not say goodbye. He simply says, “Until we meet again.”

Here is Tom’s essay, in full:

Until We Meet Again

by Tom Van Wyen

I used to love when we set the maneuvering watch on board the submarine I served on. The maneuvering watch is set when departing or returning to port. After the boat surfaces, there are two sailors topside on the bridge: the Captain, and a phone-talker, whose role was to communicate the Captain’s commands to the Con and to the engineering department.

On a crisp fall morning in the North-Atlantic, the USS Trepang was returning to Kittery, Maine. The maneuvering watch was set, and as always, Captain John Porter and myself were on the bridge.

It was not uncommon to have a pod of dolphins track our boat, and this was what was occurring on this particular occasion. Enjoying the experience of watching the dolphins race alongside our submarine, I found it intriguing to watch them leap from the ocean, visible for a moment, then disappear beneath the choppy water. Their disappearance never brought sadness, because I knew they were still there. Before long, they would surface again.

Perhaps faith is much the same. When those we love pass beyond our sight, we grieve their absence, but not without hope. Like the dolphins beneath the waves, they have disappeared from view, not from existence. I trust that one day, in God’s time, I will see them again.

Faith is a total dependence on God and a willingness to do his will. It is the belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Faith allows us to wait with hope for the moment when what is hidden becomes visible once more.

The dolphins taught me a simple lesson that morning. Not everything that disappears is gone. Sometimes it has merely passed beyond our sight. Faith gives us the courage to believe that what is hidden still exists, humility reminds us that we do not see the whole picture, and wisdom allows us to trust what lies beyond the horizon.

That is why, when I think of those I have loved and lost, I do not say goodbye. I simply say, “Until we meet again.”

Stay Golden,
TVW
tvanwyen01@gmail.com

Prefer the original PDF? Read the full essay (PDF)