Endings part 3
The first time the word "end" is used in the King James Bible is in Genesis 6:13, "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Sounds pretty doom and gloomy, eh? But not when you consider that God wasn't wiping out all of the human race. Because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God wasn't throwing a fit and destroying His creation. He was ending one thing so that He could begin a new thing. We see this over and over throughout the Old Testament, and we see this in its fulness in the cross. Now look at the second time the word "end" is used in the KJV, "And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated" (Genesis 8:3). The end of the flood. And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. That's what I'm trying to say in this Rant series more than anything else: Endings aren't necessarily bad. If you're IN a bad situation, and it ends, that's a really GOOD thing. Let me try to say it another way: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). We get so used to the way things are, and so afraid to upset that status quo, that we miss out on a lot of what's available to us. We think, "Death! No way! That's horrible!" But sometimes its just another step in the journey. Like the caterpillar who, in a sense, dies in its cocoon. It emerges, reborn, as a butterfly. Something new comes from the end of something old. The seed can't do anything until it is dead and buried. Until its life as a seed ends. But then it brings forth much fruit. It fulfills its purpose. Because the purpose of a seed is not to be a seed. The purpose of a seed is to change. To learn and grow. To bring forth fruit. There's a season for everything. A season to BE a seed, and then a season to be planted. A season to grow. And a seson to bring forth fruit. I heard somewhere that everything that is alive is constantly changing. You aren't who you were five years ago. Or even one year ago. Isn't it true that all of our cells regenerate every seven years? Taste buds change. Everything. The old passes away and the new comes forth. That's life. The key is to enjoy the journey. Don't mourn because its over... rejoice because it happened. Nothing (except love) lasts forever. So take it as it comes. The harder you hold onto things, the more you end up hurting your hand. And, listen, some things ARE worth fighting for. I'm not saying you should be passive to the point where you're a victim of life. I'm saying you should fully participate in your life. But don't expect it to be something its not. Don't let your idea of what it should be mess up your enjoyment of what it actually is. I'm convinced that the picture in our head of how things are "supposed to be" is what messes us up more than anything else. Things begin. Things end. That's the cycle of life. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. And that's ok. In some cases that's good. You can't stay where you are forever. So enjoy it while it lasts and then embrace the next thing. Love is the only thing that lasts forever. And that's what life is: To live is to love and to love is to live. Live your life. Don't let endings--or the fear of endings--cripple you. Keep moving. Onward and upward. Onward and God-ward!