Goodbye: a simple word used in polite discourse to suggest gratitude or to kindly put an end to a conversation or task. It is a word that loosely falls from our lips multiple times a day and we hardly even blink. But we know, even simple words can hold weight.

It is important to say healthy goodbyes to hard things and to properly grieve the losses and disappointments of the past year. It is necessary to name the pain and permit yourself time to question and lament. Yet, in the same space, we must also recognize that we are not betrayed or forgotten by our Lord.