Endings and New Beginnings

20. November 2008 by Julie.

I was struck with two thoughts this week.  Endings bring new beginnings and new beginnings bring endings.  For some time, we had sensed a “new beginning” was coming.  And now it is here.   But with the beginning also came an ending.  It’s not necessarily what you think of when you anticipate the beginning.

Sunday we said goodbye to our home church, Family Bible in Portage.  We’ve begun the adventure of our new beginning at Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton.  Randy has begun work as their Technical Director and is loving it!!!  There are so many emotions running through us all at the same time.

We have had a week of trying to finish well at FBC.  This week we are having our prayer center.  It is something prayer ministry has talked about for over a year.  And it has been awesome!  It came together so much better than I could have imagined for a first time adventure!

Last Sunday morning our pastors and elders gathered our family together and prayed for us.  What a great blessing!  They loved on us and sent us with their blessing!  Many others came and wished us well, some with tears in their eyes.  Even though we are only moving to a church 7 miles down the road, it still is an end of how it has been.

We are excited about what is beginning right now at Liberty.  Tonight Randy gave the boys and I a tour of the facility and show us his “office”.  We saw were the Jr High Sunday school class is located.  Where I will go for Sunday school.  We even saw the secret climbing wall hidden in the recesses of the old sanctuary.  Pretty cool stuff!

Yet I continue to ponder, we have an ending cause we have a new beginning.  New beginnings usually require an ending of something.  It may be relationships, free time, how things were or letting go of the past, but there’s an ending.

Today I helped a friend move to a new home.  It is a great thing!  Yet she is letting go of the house where her kids grew up.  So many memories!  There’s an ending, but thank God for the new beginning.

Beginnings don’t always look like finished projects either.  When a plant is just “beginning”, you hardly notice it.  It takes time and grows into a beautiful plant, flowering and producing fruit.  May we have grace to allow God to grow us in this new beginning!

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