In the Beginning

Bystephanie

When I was a young teenager, I went to a cadet camp.  The girl who was my roommate and my best friend at camp became pregnant.  In an effort to say goodbye to her and honour our friendship while coming to grips with the enormity of her situation, I wrote her a poem.  I do not claim to be Longfellow or Frost but the words that pen put to paper were the outflow of my young heart and its effort to understand the colossal changes that life brings as we grow.

In the Beginning
In the beginning, the days so long,
Now at the end, the time is gone.
Those days when we were young,
Those in which we found such fun.
The joys and sorrows we’ve had today,
We’ll later call them yesterday.
You’re going your way, and I’m going mine
But in our hearts our friendship shines.
You’ll miss me, I’ll miss you too,
Through this our closeness will stand true.
You’re so far away and yet so near,
The times we’ve shared I’ll hold so dear.
I mightn’t see you soon, it may be long,
Please just keep on singing your favourite song.
For you now my friend again the beginning is here,
Savour the time and hold memories dear.
My parting words are not good-bye,
Though when you leave you’ll see me cry
Because…
In the beginning the days so long,
Now at the end the time is gone.
I never did reestablish contact with my young friend – she was from another part of the country.  The lesson I began to learn that summer has been materializing in my life ever since.  Things change.  People move in and out of our lives.  Sometimes we hurt.
One of the greatest examples of change in the Scripture is the account of Jacob.  So much changed for him that God even changed his name.
Genesis 32:28

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob’s life was in a continual flux and it seemed as though when things started to look up something very often went bad.  Jacob didn’t give up.  He kept growing in the Lord, he kept moving forward.

God reiterates this message in the account of Lot’s wife.  God was very clear that they were to move forward but she longed for what was behind and ended her time on earth as a pillar of salt.  Genesis 19:25 – 27

Everyday is a new opportunity to begin afresh with the Lord – looking forward to grow in Him.  Even though it may be hard, what seems like forever now will be as only seconds in the light of eternity.  Jesus was never stagnant, He moved forward into each new day with a heart to grow in the Lord.

Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Similar Posts