Our scripture this morning reminds us that joyful, sorrowful, bittersweet; planned or unexpected; welcomed or resisted or grieved; no matter how a leave-taking happens, it always brings an invitation to blessing, and makes space for the Spirit to open new doors. In the words of the hymn: “In our end is our beginning, in our time, infinity; in our doubt, there is believing; in our life, eternity; from the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery – unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” The seeds of potential are always present in every ending – sending shoots of possibility into new beginnings. Things are never the same – but all the richness that has been gained from love and friendship given, from faith expressed, and cherished memories and experiences shared – is never lost. It becomes the fertile ground out of which something new begins to sprout and grow.