Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.
Genesis 13:9, NKJV
It can be heartwarming to witness the reactions of toddlers dropped off by their parents in a nursery or a classroom. Often separation anxiety sets in when a child clings to the familiar embrace of a parent. Other times the child scampers off without a second thought. Though Shakespeare’s Juliet views parting as “such sweet sorrow,” a Dan Hicks country song asks, “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?” With Abram and Lot, the quarreling of their herdsmen reached epic proportions as they fought over watering holes and grazing lands. Continually faced with the challenge of determining which sheep belonged in which herd, they finally had enough. Separation is hard, but life is too short to fight all the time.