NEW BEGINNINGS

Today is my last Wednesday at Bowles Rice, a place were I’ve taken up space for the last 30-few years. You see it’s time for me to transition to a new chapter, a new season in my life. I’m super excited about the opportunity I’ve been given to quit my day job so to speak (Tony says I’m a quitter since I’m not old enough to be called a retiree — I’m down with that!) and dedicate myself to my other full-time job of wife, mother, laundry lady, housekeeper, sous chef, lawn mower, horse mother, flock tender, chief cook and bottle washer, and grandmother to-be to Baby Boy Wright. We are some busy people.

Although I’m doing something I never thought I’d do, counting down the days (Can I get a woohoo?!?!), it is a little bittersweet. You see I’ve been blessed (truly) to go to work each day with people I love so much. People I’ve been honored to encourage and people who have carried me. People God put in my life for a reason, a season and a second. Our life here is but a blink. It seems only yesterday I was starting my career as a wide-eyed-22-year-old-know-it-all-single-girl and in a flash I’m humbly packing up my desk, hopefully a little wiser for the years, and expecting my first grandchild — did I mention it’s a boy? But, of course, we’re told how quickly time goes by, aren’t we? King David wrote:

Such beautiful, beautiful, thought provoking words. King David encourages us to live in the moments of life. He says life is but a breath (our next one depends on God), spend your time wisely (think about what we’re doing – does it really matter?) and remember what is most important of all, trusting in the Lord our God (our only Hope). The Gospel is all rolled up in these verses.

Just as our seasons change from winter to spring to summer to fall, so do you lives. We have specific roles in each of our seasons of life, but only one purpose – to glorify God. Sometimes we get that messed up, don’t we? I don’t know about you, but sometimes, unfortunately, I’m much better at living to glorify Beth than God. Only for what Beth wants. Super selfish. Completely forgetting, or remembering and completely ignoring that my sole purpose for opening my eyes this morning, for taking my next breath, is to honor my Creator.

I sometimes work frantically to fill the eternity hole in my heart, which can only be filled by Him, with every other thing in life — work, house, cars, animals, travel, money, friends, family, toys, noise, busyness — all things in and of themselves not bad, but all things that can be used to fill the eternity hole, replacing the only thing that can actually fill the eternity hole, Jesus.

King Solomon helps give us a little perspective:

These times, they are a changing. My under heaven is going to look a little different in the days to come, but my eternity will not. All my hope is in Jesus. What does your under heaven look like? What does your eternity look like? What do you put your hope in?