So lately I have been thinking a lot about the different chapters in our lives. As our baby becomes a big girl, our first house gets sold and our summer has been filled with funerals I can't help but think about the seasons of our lives and the doors that close.
I was recently preaching on the Road to Emmaus and was once again struck by the fact that here were two men on Easter morning spreading the message and story of Christ when you gather that the 12 disciples were themselves in the upper room. Some part of me is always a bit upset with the 12 disciples who aren't out shouting and spreading the message but the reality is we have to be patient with them...they are not only grieving the lost of Jesus as a friend and mentor but they are processing and beginning a new chapter in our lives. No matter how long we prepare ourselves for a death of a loved one, there is still something shocking about it when it comes and a process of grief that we must go through.
No matter how much we expect and anticipate the changes that happen in our lives and the events that mark those changes, we can never be completely prepared for them nor how they will effect us.
If we are in tune with the Holy then we seek out the Divine presence during this time - some of us to find hope, some to find consistency and others to seek reassurance. Whichever it is that we seek, the Spirit can help fulfill our need. And we can find in the Holy Bible a lot of references to transitional time periods. In fact, many of the experiences of the Divine within the Holy text are times of transition or when people are worried of the unknown future.
