REFLECTIONS

Birth Pains

The tears shed were not because a game was lost or a goal unmet. Rather tears flowed because a season of life had ended. It was one we all loved so much—a time when we watched a young man grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. A time rich with blessings.

Grief is so normal when endings come. We all go through the emptiness from them. No matter if it is a death, a job change, a broken relationship, or a high school basketball career as it was this time. Endings are a disruptive part of life consoled and connected by transitions into fresh beginnings.

Transitions, William Bridges’ bestselling book, should have a place in every library. It explains life as a series of transitions giving birth to new beginnings after something ends. Transitions are those hollow times in between filled with grief, anger, loss, fear, regret, denial, and guilt, before acceptance. 

Endings disrupt the rhythm of life and often lead to a loss of identity or purpose.  Transitions bring change to activities, travel patterns, financial stability, and relationships. Transitions call us to relive memories in solitude and to seek God in prayer. Transitions last until a sunrise unveils the birth of a new day. 

The Apostles experienced it. They retreated to the solitude of the upper room and grieved. Then Jesus returned to them and opened the door to, “Go into all the world and make disciples…” The ending they grieved became the incubator that gave birth to blooms of a new season that would spread the Gospel around the world.

Some seasons of life leave rich blessings as my grandson’s basketball left for me. That season lives in my memory even as other seasons have come and gone. Time in transition relieves the birth pains of new seasons that illumine rich blessings of their own.

God, it seems, designs life that way.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +www.reflectingthesavior.org

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