Embrace the Sorrow

As our ministry year winds down I continue to process and respond to the emotions I feel each year. We've looked at the feeling JOY that comes at the end of each ministry year and the need to stop and REST as the year ends. Here's another one ...

SORROW
The end of every year is sad
It hurts
I mourn it
In fact, if I didn't, then I would be worried
It means for the time that God has given me with a student
Whether that be 7 years
Or just 6 months
I have given them all that I have
I've trained them
I've shepherded them
I've coached them
I've strategically placed them in groups
I've served them
I've loved them
And after pouring all of that into them ...
Now it's time for them to leave
That hurts
It always hurts
It should hurt

But rather than hide from that hurt
Or trying to hide that hurt for others
I've learned to lean into it
To embrace it
To show it to others
To wear it as a badge of hope for the future and memories of yesterday
I walk through that sorrow knowing that these students are way more important to God than they could ever be to me
And knowing that He has given me room in my heart to love, invest in and pour into the next group of students that He is bringing up

Maybe today, or this week, you need to stop hiding from the pain
And just embrace it