Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Life is a Series of New Chapters


Moving through the seasons of life is like the chapters of a book.  There are defining moments that signal the close of one chapter and the beginning of another.  The challenge, of course, is recognizing when it’s time to turn the page.

I remember when I entered the ministry.  It closed one chapter of my life and opened another.  It was a scary time for me and Renae… as it usually is when following God’s lead.  We then worked in the ministry for a number of years within the framework of a certain denominational system, but then felt led of God to turn the page and enter another chapter.  Pace Community Church came into existence as a result.

And now, here it is fourteen years later.  Now what?

Closing one chapter of your life requires looking forward and putting the past behind.  That doesn’t mean you forsake the past, but it does mean the future becomes your primary focus.  Neither do you get stuck in the present.  To get stuck is to be, well, stuck.

Change is on the horizon for me.  Renae and I recently became first-time grandparents.  We are very close to being empty-nesters.  We are making plans to build a new home, which has been a long dream of ours.  And we have travel plans, places we’d like to see.  All of these things (and many others) are indicators that the page is turning and we’re entering a new chapter.

Vocational changes are coming for me too.  I have half a lifetime of accumulated ministry experience, and this wisdom is something I should spend the next season of my life passing along to others.  My time would be better spent training others, imparting wisdom, and planning for succession, rather than working the same way I have in the first half of my life – like there’s no end in sight.

When we encounter transitions in life, either we can embrace them or we can resist them, but we cannot avoid them.

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