When something is gone, we often mourn its loss: friend, a spouse, a prized possession, maybe something we had only for a short while but which made an impact upon us.

I was thinking recently that I need to take stock of what’s in my closet, maybe some storage areas in the house. Time to thin things out, time to make way for a new year. Time to find a worthy donation center. Am I discarding things that I couldn’t care less about? Will I never give them a thought again?

No. I’m giving them new life. I loved them for what they were meant to be, but every season has an end. Every day experiences night, every candle eventually goes dark, but so also does each storm experience a lull, a break — quiet.

If giving something up and releasing it isn’t a form of love, I don’t know what is. We can’t hold onto everything forever. We can’t transform the used into something shiny and new. We can’t get back its original glory, but to someone else, that very thing might just breathe new life. It can bring goodwill and cheer, renewal and commitment.

For our own experiences with endings that might mean a new beginning to someone else, I am thankful.