I am going to stop looking for the finish line; rather, I’m going to live life as though it never ends. I will be mindful of seasons and transitions and will observe and honor them. Death is merely one of the certain transitions, but life is forever.
One of my core values is keeping my focus on eternity, the things that go on forever. It brings perspective to the true importance of things. Yes, some temporary things are very important, for instance, the condition of our physical bodies, taking care of our environment, and the joys we experience on this journey; but, keeping an eternal perspective is important to living a joyful life.
As I contemplated this value, I realized I too often live my life with a finish line in mind. A point in time when things will be over, which necessitates a gradual winding down. Now, this is not a bad thing, yet, I need to define “finish line.” This way of thinking prompted this declaration:
[callout]I am going to stop looking for the finish line; rather, I’m going to live life as though it never ends. I will be mindful of seasons and transitions and will observe and honor them. Death is merely one of the certain transitions, but life is forever.[/callout]
What do I mean by living life as though it never ends? Life has a beginning and it has an end as is defined in the temporal, but I feel prompted to make decisions, based not on an end, but on the transitions I know I will face.
Obviously, I am focused on the eternal, but I also need to live my life in the here and now with a sharper awareness of the journey, the transitions, and the transformations of life. When I look for a “finish line” I start to live with an end in mind, which is not a bad thing in one way, but in another way, I don’t want to wind down and start to see my life as “over” in various stages. Because… honestly… if I had such an outlook, I would already see a lot of things as “over” and an entire chunk of my life as gone. I don’t want to start looking at a timeline and giving up on dreams. I don’t want to view myself as finite when my soul is infinite. I want to firmly grasp a future that does not end.
I will be mindful of focusing upon the journey, the transitions, and the transformations of everlasting life.
The Journey
The Journey is all the paths we daily travel. It is the ups, downs, ins, outs, good, bad, joy, pain, trek from where we are to where we are going (which is seldom entirely evident). The journey has mercilessly beaten me up, and it has gifted me with joys beyond measure. The journey gives, and the journey takes away, but it is a good journey.
Our journey does not end. The objective of our journey is and is not its destination. The journey is the whole. The objective of the journey is the journey. All of the things we experience and learn along the way. Since life never ends, the journey is movement, it is forward, it is experiences, the journey is the point.
[shareable]The objective of the journey is the journey.[/shareable]
The Transitions
The transitions are the changing spaces as we move from one reality to the next. A transition is a gradient. One foot in each world as the change completes. There are many transitions on the journey. The continual and day-to-day transitions make up the journey. The major transitions move us from one worldview to the next, from one perspective to the next, from one paradigm to the next.
When we say, “I’m going to hang on because I know this is going to get better,” we are referencing the transitions. Today may be difficult, even unbearable, but I know this is not my permanent abode. I am going somewhere. This is going to keep changing as I move forward and it is going to come to a bearable, and perhaps even a good place. Transitions give us hope. We are not permanently fixed in the transitions.
The transitions are transitory. They come and go. They are temporary. They are stepping stones across a river on the journey that serve the purpose of getting us to the other side. Since they are a part of the journey they are to be relished, but they are a temporary state, condition, or circumstance.
The Transformations
Transformations are permanent changes. The old passes away and the new comes. I was that and now I am this. There are many transitions in a transformation. The journey transforms us. The transitions shuttle us from one level of transformation to the next.
The transformations guide what we are becoming. We keep transforming on the journey. My being is changing. Who I am in the divine/human partnership. Who I am in Christ Jesus. If the journey is the point, then the transformations are the outcomes.
It is important to keep all three in focus.
So, I don’t want to look for the finish line, that point in time when everything is over. I don’t want to view the transitions or the transformations as the finish line. They are introductions to the things yet to come. Joy comes from embracing the present realities as transitory and the lasting joy as eternal. I’m not promoting a fairy tale with this line of thinking. I’ve been forced to see and to live life in the context of what I am becoming, of what is transitioning and transforming around me. The way I handle the transitions and the prompted transformations will define whether I find the lasting joy or I live in the present realities of this world.
I will honor the transitions and lay hold of their realities. Death is a transition and the ultimate human transformation. I will face it one day. But I choose not to view it as a finish line, it is merely a permanent transition point on my journey that will transform my ability to live in the lasting joy of God’s kingdom. I will make preparation, but I will not see it as the end, because I don’t believe it is!
The journey continues.
For Thought or Discussion…
What are the things presently changing around you? Can you see a transition? Can you see transformation? What old things are passing away and what is becoming new in you?
Are you looking for a place to quit (retirement, perhaps), or are you looking for a transition point that will launch you into your next great adventure? What is it? What is your next great adventure?
Have you been through painful circumstances, loss, grief, or hurtful things? Can you see or even begin to comprehend the transformations taking place in your life through the transition? You may not be ready to even think about that yet, and if not, believe me, I understand, but stay alert and watchful for the new things that will emerge in your life. Intently look for the new things emerging in your life.
Think back to a transition time in your life. Looking back, what transformation was taking place in you? Does this encourage you as you look forward?
Blessings my friends!
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