saying goodbye

Two weeks ago, when I gave my notice to Advent, I could figure why I wasn’t emotional. I knew I loved my job, my girls, and especially my team...but it was so exciting to announce my new opportunity.

It finally hit me today. On my way to work, I began thinking about how to say goodbye. I started to rehearse the words I’d say to my team and my girls as I walk away from the Summit home and my life as an employee at Advent....and the tears wouldn’t stop falling. As I sat in a living room that holds so many memories this morning and “checked-in” (a phrase I never used before Advent), the only feeling I could identify was thoughtful and I was comfortable enough with those people to cry and pray and finally grieve as I begin this process of letting go.

To be honest, I don’t know how to let go. I don’t know how I’m going to say goodbye to a place where I’ve been a part of casting a vision and watched it become reality, where I’ve scrubbed floors and painted walls, where I’ve taken care of sick girls who missed their mom, where I’ve cried thousands of tears, where I’ve watched teenage girls grow and change, where I’ve prayed many bedtime prayers, where I’ve laughed uncontrollably, where I’ve lost many games of pool,where I’ve seen God perform miracles, a place where I’ve walked through sunshine, fire, and rain and have made it to the other side a changed person.

But I am going to say goodbye. Because even if it hurts, it’s right. Because it’s time to let go and move on.