The End

The end is here!  It feels sad sometimes to reach the end of something.  Doesn't it?  The end of a great book.  The end of the baby stage with your children.  The end of your courtship before you marry your love.  Other times the end of something is heralded throughout the land far and wide (at least your "land").  No more diapers!  Yahoo!  No more lost pacifiers!  Yes!  No more feeding your children only one food they're willing to eat for what feels like months on end.  You started to wonder if your child would turn into a macaroni noodle covered in cheese.  But thankfully now they are willing to eat...french fries too!  Glory!

The end can be both final and renewing.  You can clearly see the line marking the end of something good or bad, yet there is something else on the other side of that line.  Adventure?  Excitement?  Wonder?  Worry?  Stress?  The unknown?  So many things...so many options...so many directions...  The world is open to you when you reach the end of something and prepare to enter into something new and fresh.  Should I go on that trip?  Should I start that class?  Should I get to know the new person in my neighborhood or at work or down the street?  It's both exciting and nerve wracking.

It's a wonder some of us don't just dive back under the covers and call it a day when the calendar flips over to a new year.  We start to think maybe it's too much under the best of circumstances, but this "the end" is almost more than some of us can handle.  This "the end" seems super scary not richly exciting.  It seems like it will strike you down and you will never recover from the blow.  Yet...we have a cheering section rallying us on.  It says so in Hebrews 12:1-2..."Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  We may "feel" like this "the end" is the worst "the end" we've ever encountered.  Yet...we are to "...throw off everything that hinders..." and "...run with perseverance the race marked out for us..."

Picture that!  You're in the line up waiting for the starting gun in the 200-meter dash.  You have Mo 2020 on your left and Yo 2021 on your right.  You all get into position, anticipating the start of this race.  Just before you hear the gun, you take a moment to let your eyes wander about the stadium a bit.  You've been so focused on winning this race against Mo and Yo, by any means possible, that you have failed to see the crowd in the stands.  As you look about you, in those last few seconds before the race begins, you see a plethora of people with homemade posters in hand and banners in your home colors.  The signs say things like: You got this, Don't look back, Press on, Cling to Him, and Look up!  You realize the faces of the people seem familiar to you.  You search your memory.  Some of these people you've only seen in old photos.  Black and white photos yellowed with age.  Great Grandma Jeannie, Great Uncle Felix, Aunt Sara...  They have run their race and gone on before you.  They've seen many a "the end" and they persevered.  They know you can too!  What a joy to be cheered on by so many other fantastic runners.  Runners that have jumped the hurdles and still made it to the finish line.

While it may feel, to some of us, like this "the end" can only lead to more stress, frustration, and worry, we need to remember that we can lean in to our Father.  He is our greatest cheerleader as we fast approach this "the end."  He knows us better than anyone else because He created us and made us who we are in Him.  He knows we feel weak and weary.  He knows we worry when we shouldn't.  He loves us so very much!  He has a plan for us.  He has a path for us.  Lean in!  Grab on!  He's got you!

I pray that this coming year is one of new God-touched experiences for you and your loved ones.  I pray that you hand over your worries and your fears to your Father.  I pray that you stand against the powers that are at work to steal, kill, and destroy, the one who is out to take your joy, the one who wants to see you separated from your Father.  I pray that you will enter this new year with an excitement in your heart, a spring in your step, and a song on your lips.  I pray that you will see miracles happen.  I pray that you will have opportunities to share your testimony and to speak life into those around you.  I pray that, if you feel overwhelmed by life and living from day to day, you will reach out for help and that you will be surrounded by love and care.  I pray that you will seek Him and you will find Him.

Stand against the enemy by kneeling before your Father and crying out to Him.  Pray...without ceasing.