"Every beginning ends something. Every ending begins something new."

A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2013-10-08) from his book, Sometimes You Win--Sometimes You Learn:Life's Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses (p. 180). Center Street. Kindle Edition.

Have you ever read the book of Acts in the Bible? The book starts with Jesus leaving and going to heaven and how troubling it was for His followers but He had done what He was here to do and He had to end His stay so the work of the Holy Spirit could begin. What would have happened if Jesus said, “I don’t want to leave”? “I still have work to do.” Then we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to reap the benefit of His coming. For His work to continue, He had to leave it to His followers through the Holy Spirit to continue it.

I had to leave my position of being a Pastor to begin the privilege of becoming a writer. Something had to end for something to begin.

John shared that “Poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson had an insightful take on this. He asserted, ‘For everything we gain we lose something.’ We like gaining, but we don’t like losing. We want to have the one without the other. But life doesn’t work that way.” He also said, “We are continually making trades in life. Unfortunately, if you resist change, you are trading your potential to grow for your comfort. No change means no growth.”

Have you found that true yet in your life? I sold my car so that I would have to walk. We had worked hard for those two cars but the one was getting in the way of my desire to not be an invalid as an older person. I needed to get out and walk. That change forced me to walk.

What change do you need in your life? I remember the day I quit using my typewriter and got my first computer. I remember the day I signed up for Juno and the Internet which is now my avenue of ministry. It is also a great way to connect with friends and family all over the world. I can see the latest picture of my granddaughters every day. My life is so exciting because I have constantly looked at the opportunity for new things. But what if I hadn’t changed?

I am called to be an evangelist. My dad was an evangelist and we traveled all over the US and Canada holding revivals in churches but in my day I was a Church Planter. That was how I initially reached out to people who didn’t know Christ now I use the Internet. The calling is the same but the method changes. But we don’t want to change. We want to be comfortable.

What is it that you need to change? Are you fighting it? Are you too comfortable?

So what are you going to do?

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