Endings that Create Beginnings

Life is a series of endings that always mark new beginnings. 

Truth be told, we don't always like endings!  Perhaps we think of vacation and the ensuing reality of having to head home; maybe the reality that someone we love is living in their final days; perhaps that the beauty of fall is quickly dissipating to the northern winds of winter. 

For many, endings are a time of mourning, of grief, of change.  It is hard to get ready for something new when we aren't ready for the old to end. Yet not all endings are sad, nor mournful.  Some endings are welcomed!  An end to a job that one has dreaded; an end to a growing season of life.   In the interchange of endings and beginnings is often the place where God works wonders.  Yes, at times we must mourn the ending, celebrate what was, and swallow the hard reality of a chapter closing. But we must never stay there!

I would imagine that the days after Jesus' death, they were facing the struggle of an ending that they did not want nor expect.  I can hear them gathering around a table and asking deep questions like: "What do we do now that Jesus is dead?  Where do I go after I just walked away from our families fishing business?  Will dad welcome us home?  What happened to Jesus- was he not who he thought he was?"

Yet in the hope of resurrection, we have a new beginning.  The reality of a new era, or a new experience of life, erupts on the scene.  Resurrected living is like that...God takes endings and creates new beginnings.  They may not all turn out as we expect, or even desire, but the newness of these beginnings are founded upon hope- hope of what can be, of what God will do, of a new journey that lies ahead.

The 4 Gospels all have endings that are really new beginnings.  In each, there is a transference of leadership.  There is a call, an invitation, an imperative command to Go and witness, Go and make disciples, Go and make known all that Jesus has done.  Our new beginning is found in our partnership with God!  We are ambassadors, as Paul says.  We are the very ones that God has equipped and called to share his Good News with all people.

And so, in the endings of your life, where is God's resurrection power starting new beginnings?  In those moments of despair, worry, or mournfulness, where is God opening the way to something fresh and new?