The greatest of these is love

A Reflection on Transition

“The greatest of these is love” 

I Cor. 13 13.

            This week is filled with endings and beginnings as both my sons

will end a chapter in their life only to begin a new one in the fall. My youngest son completes Grade 8 and the older one finishes Grade 12. They will both move to new schools, new challenges and many new opportunities. But it is this week that has been challenging for me. My little boys are not so little anymore! Sure they like to take things apart and put them back together just as they did when they were little but it is also a time when they are preparing for what God has in store for them both. And I am grateful that they believe this too!

            This is what I believe- God is preparing them for what is to come and has been all along. My husband and I are merely coaches as they continue to grow up and find out their abilities and interests. And sometimes the coaching means pushing and sometimes it means just letting things be.

            I am feeling these transitions not because I am getting older, but because I see them taking on ideas for themselves and offering their opinions and their gifts for the sake of others and not needing my hand to shush them, push them or even encourage them. This too is because God showed me how to love others and I learned this from my family. I just pray that this kind of love will continue to be shared.

            Paul wrote in I Corinthians about the ‘most excellent way to live”.  This is a life filled with love. And as we read through this chapter so often shared a weddings and funerals, love is described in many ways and with many attributes—patient, kind, not envy, boast, not proud, not rude not self-seeking, not easily angered; rejoices in the truth, always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres; and never fails.

            Paul describes love in action as a child who talked and though and reasoned as a child. Yet when maturity set in he became a man and put childish ways behind. But the real person he was is but a poor reflection of the whole person he became. A person who loves.

            As the summer begins, I give thanks to God for His love shown to me in Jesus and the ability to share this love with my family and others. This time of transition will continue until the younger son goes to high school  and the older son starts university in September. It is almost like getting ready to start again and they are—new chapters in their life with God leading them.

            Let us remember all those who are graduating and preparing for something new. Let us remember them in prayer and with love and encouragement. Let us rejoice that God will lead them for they are His children.

PRAYER:
Holy God we thank you for your love and your willingness to encourage us as we walk into challenges and changes. Show us your way and enable us to reach out to others as we grow and love others as Jesus taught. Be with us as we face these times of transition in this life and always. Amen.

PLEASE NOTE: There will not be a reflection for July 1 and 8. Watch for a new series beginning July 15.