Some endings feel abrupt because if they had happened slowly, you would’ve talked yourself into staying.

Angel: Why did that chapter of her life have to end so suddenly?

God: Because if I had given her a warning, she would have tried to control the ending. She would have tried to make it perfect. She would have spent her energy preparing for a goodbye instead of being present in the time she had left.

When the new chapter begins, she’ll look back and see

– Jacqueline Whitney

Angel: It feels harsh.

God: It feels harsh from where she’s standing. But sometimes the mercy is in the suddenness. The slow, drawn-out endings are harder than the quick ones. They give you too much time to bargain. To hope. To pretend it isn’t really happening.

Angel: So you ended it quickly to spare her.

God: I ended it quickly because she would’ve stayed forever if I let her. She would’ve kept trying. Kept fixing. Kept giving more than she had. The abrupt ending was the only way to make sure she didn’t waste another season trying to keep something alive that I had already decided was complete.

Angel: Will she understand?

God: Eventually. When the new chapter begins, she’ll look back and see that the sudden ending was making room. She’ll see that what felt like loss was redirection. She’ll see that I closed that door so quickly because the next one was already opening.

Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.