I recently had a friend tell me, “May is a month full of beginnings and endings.”
It’s true, isn’t it? For many, May is a busy month. But May is also a month in which a school year ends, and summer begins. May is a month we celebrate the graduation of high school and college seniors, and we look ahead to new beginnings. And, May is a month where the school year rhythm ends and a summer pace sets in.
Perhaps for yourself you’ve been experiencing other beginnings and endings, too. Our lives are full of ’em. On the whole, those beginnings and endings may bring excitement. But they may also bring apprehension, uncertainty, and even grief. Though it may seem strange to think of a beginning as yeilding such emotions, it’s true. Talk to any grief counselor and they’ll tell you that any shift – an ending or a beginning – is something that impacts us.
This past weekend in worship we heard from the prophet Isaiah, encouraging the Israelites not to look to the past, but to free themselves from what they expected in order to percieve what God was doing. To be clear – there are times that it is helpful to look to what has come before us. And, there are times in which we need to grieve something that is coming to a close. But, if we hold onto those “things” (whatever it may be) it may keep us from perceiving what God is already doing in us and around us.
So as you continue into the summer, consider the beginnings and endings that you’ve been experiencing. And, consider if there is something that you’ve been holding onto that might be keeping you from recognizing what God is laying before you, or even before the church. All the time, God is doing something. Now, it’s up to us to join in what what God has already started.