Another unwanted goodbye is staring me down. In a matter of days hearts that cautiously moved close and then dared to trust must part ways. This is not the first time I stand at the precipice of such a departure. Like before, my kids are being affected as well. I am not sure which is worse. To have my own heart torn or to witness my child’s being broken? Grieving simultaneously is validating and therefore a comfort, but neither circumstance is desirable.

Goodbyes are part of this current cursed age. In and out people ebb and flow into our lives. A constant stream of hellos and goodbyes. Especially in a big city like Atlanta it seems. How much can the heart take I wonder. Is there a limit to the number of goodbyes we can tolerate in one lifetime?

A recent social media comment from a friend poignantly reminded me of how faithfully God carried me through the most painful goodbye to date. On the other side of a long goodbye hug several years back, God was very present. I can still feel my friend’s arms around me at the airport, clinging, neither of us wanting to let go of our mutually edifying in-person relationship. In the immediate aftermath, God clearly showed up and continually did so in the days, months, and years following. The goodbye was hard but did not lack follow-up comfort. This goodbye will also be hard, but God will show up again in clear, concrete ways. God is on the other side of every goodbye.

The pain will be real. The tears will surface. But God will be there. He will send the necessary comfort. He will sustain. He will be at work in the trial. Once again, there will be life after loss.

Over and over we dare to trust and move close to others because God has hard wired us for connection. We are meant to know one another. Care for one another. Bear the burdens of one another. Open our hearts to one another. We are meant to love and be loved, which will inevitably lead to grief when the day comes to let go. Dare to love anyway. Dare to move close. Dare to have faith that God will show up on the other side of every goodbye.