The End Without Closure

Another end without closure hit my heart like a ton of bricks today. As you might imagine I cry my share of tears on the regular, but it’s been a minute since the dam opened like it did today when we heard that school is out for the rest of the year.

As I listened to Emma talk about all the “lasts” she was looking forward to my heart split wide open. The tears fell and I thought about all the “lasts” we not only wanted, but needed.

The end of senior year is closure. It’s a celebration of a major milestone AND a gateway to the future. This period of transition is beneficial for not only the students but the families too.

This abrupt ending has a tragic impact on our hearts. Not only are we grieving what was “supposed” to be, but we are left questioning the promise of the future. Everything we know is out of balance.

The disruption in our emotional equilibrium makes it difficult to stay positive and focused. Where there should be happy memories there are tears. Hugs are replaced with virtual high fives. Events are now lingering emails full of I’m sorry’s.

We are resilient and we will overcome, but right now we are sad. We have a raw understanding that there are worse things than this. But we also have a deep appreciation for life, memories and most of all closure. So we are grieving…

Today we mourn the memories, moments and  milestones cut short, left unmade … gone before their time. The world has fallen over and there is nothing we can do to set it right, so we breathe and then breathe again. That is all there is until the time comes when we can move forward.

John 16:33 New International Version (NIV)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”