REFLECTIONS

Defining Moments

Sometimes they strike as lightening from a clear blue sky. Other times they are as predictable as light of a new day. However they come, defining moments mark the end of something that once was and the beginning of something that hasn’t yet been. This one was not unexpected, and the tears shed were not because a game was lost or a goal went unmet. Tears flowed because a season of life had ended. It was one we loved so much—a time when we watched a little girl grow in wisdom and stature into a young woman in favor with God. It was a season rich with blessings and memories that will last a lifetime.

Grief is so normal when an ending comes. We all go through it. We feel such emptiness when something ends. It is a helpless state that feels so alone. No matter if it is a death, a job change, a broken relationship, or a high school athletic career, endings are a part of life. But endings are bridged by transitions that link to new beginnings.

Transitions is the title and subject of a bestselling book by William Bridges. In it he describes life as a series of bridges between endings and beginnings. Beginnings are born only after endings have come. In between are the hollow times of grief that provoke anger, loss, fear, regret, denial, and guilt, before acceptance is received.

Endings disrupt the rhythm of life often leaving a loss of identity or purpose. The ensuing periods of transition are trying times when activities change, destinations redirected, and relationships altered. But transitions provide a time for reflection—a time to retreat into solitude and to prayer. They offer occasion to relive memories and to prepare for the unveiling of sunrises that give birth to new days.

The Apostles experienced it. They retreated into solitude and grieved. Then Jesus returned to them and opened doors that sent them into all the world to make disciples.  The ending they grieved transformed into the blossoms of a new season in their lives that spread the Gospel around the world.

Each season of life can be rich with blessings as my granddaughter’s high school athletic career was for our family. It was a season that will forever live in memory as we await the birth of a new one. In between, tears for a season gone by will stream into the cherished memories of all that happened. Tomorrow the sun will rise to illumine the blossoms of a new season that will soon bring blessings of their own. And today…

Today we sing to the Lord, for the glorious things he has done in our lives.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

Click here for Printer Friendly Version