Endings and Beginnings

This time of year is always a time of reflection for me. Perhaps that is because I am on break from school, and I actually have time to sit and reflect. Perhaps it is that the weather gets chilly and gray, and I don't want to leave my house, but rather want to curl up under a ton of blankets with a steaming mug of tea...or coffee. Perhaps it is just the season - the ending of one year, the beginning of the next.

Well, whatever the reason, I always like to reflect on the past at this time of year...just let my mind wander over the past year and pause wherever it feels like it and then continue its pleasant little ramble through the dusty shelves of my memory.

What I'm pondering on today is something that is very real in my present life. Endings. And Beginnings. Endings are great and yet sad at the same time. There is a joy that comes from finishing something, and there is a sadness that it is over. Beginnings are great and scary. There is the rush of excitement that something new is happening, and there is the scariness of the unknown staring you straight back in the face.

I am almost finished with college. One more semester and I will be done. That is difficult for me to process, especially as I do not know what the next step is. This is a time of ending one chapter and beginning another. The scary and exciting part is turning the page to see what the next chapter holds.

I have some friends who recently got married...in fact it hasn't even been a week yet...they turned the page. They ended the chapter of their lives in which they were single, and they are beginning a chapter in which they are married to each other. Their stories have suddenly intersected and melded. What an exciting chapter that is going to be!!

I have another friend who is experiencing a change in chapter due to the sudden death of a family member. The page turned before he was ready for it, and he doesn't particularly like what he is reading on this page. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the chapter holds.

Another friend is closing a chapter of living alone as she is going to be having a new roommate move in soon, and then a new chapter will be beginning as they move in with another roommate. She is ready to be in a chapter where she has roommates and isn't alone.

The chapters and seasons of our lives are ever changing. It is learning to take the change in stride and take the endings and beginnings together that is the key. Changes happen every moment of every day. Some are changes we pick. Some aren't. But above it all we get to pick how we respond to those changes. What are the endings and beginnings in your life? How will you respond to them?