The End.
Those two little words have so much meaning, so much power.
They carry weight, especially for a writer. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of typing The End on the final page of a manuscript.
The End, though, is never really the end. The End is where the hard work starts. For a writer, that’s when the critical reading, correcting, and editing starts. That’s when we dig in, look for plot holes, make sure we’ve flushed out our characters fully, and try to find everything we did wrong so that we can make it right. The End is only a pause in the blood, sweat, and tears of our passion and our craft.
It seems to me that the same is true in life. We have many The End moments in this life.
We’ve been studying Genesis in our Sunday evening church service, and the last several weeks have been on the life of Joseph. He lived with his father and brothers, and then God said The End. He was carried by a caravan into Egypt, and then God said The End. He served in Potiphar’s house, and then God said The End. He spent years in prison, and then God said The End.
Each ending in Joseph’s life was directed by God. Each ending taught Joseph something and carried him further along the path God had ordained for him. Without those many endings, Joseph would not have been in a position to provide grain to his brothers, let alone to bring his entire family into Egypt under his protection.
Here’s another one of Joseph’s stories: Joseph was cut off and isolated form his family…until God said The End.
Joseph’s life is a good reminder to all of us. Every time God says The End in our lives, He has already started on our next story. The End, in other words, is also Once upon a time…
When we seek and serve God, when we walk in His will, we can be assured that He knows exactly when to type The End. (He knows when to type The End even when we’re not walking in His will. We might lack that assurance, though, to recognize it.) Whether God is moving us into a different ministry, job, home state, or something else entirely, God never ends something just to leave us hanging. He doesn’t have to go back and fix plot holes in our lives. He doesn’t need to edit out the typos or fragments.
God writes the most beautiful stories, and his first drafts are always golden, perfect just the way they are. We may not always be able to see that. We may occasionally need a little distance or perspective before we can understand the character arc that we are undergoing at His hands.
Even when we can’t see it, though, we can trust. We can know that God’s way is the right way and that every story He tells has a satisfying ending that always leads to a new beginning.
If I were sitting face-to-face with you, this is the point where I’d pick up my coffee mug and clink it against your cup or glass, and I would offer up a toast.
May your life be filled with many magnificent endings. To God be the glory. Cheers.
Comment below and tell me about an ending in your life that led to a book-worthy beginning for you. One commenter will be randomly selected to receive a $5 Amazon gift card.
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
Leaving one job and beginning another that was so much better in every way.
I don’t believe I have ever looked at The End in quite that way, Heather…thank you for the new perspective…I am going to have to review some things from past with this new outlook!
I never thought of life that way.
Yay! That’s a good one! Was it scary at the time, or did you have that peace that surpasses all understanding?
I’m glad I had something to say that gave you a new perspective Paula! I love it when somebody challenges me like that, so it puts a smile on my face when I get to do the same for someone else. I hope you find many magnificent endings as you take a look back at the past. :-)
Thank you for stopping by today, Kim!
I really like the idea of the end because then it has to be followed by new beginnings. I am toasting you with my coffee mug!
Woohoo! I’m glad you could visit the blog today, Lori, to share a toast with me. ^_^
When I lost my job and then Mom and I both realized that it was time for me to stay home with her. It took us awhile to see it, as we weren’t expecting it at that time. However, it’s now been 8 years, and I love being home with her. I’ve found two new careers, that I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t home. I can do both from home, so I can still do what I need to for Mom.
What truth in this, but sometimes it’s so hard to recognize it when we’re in the middle of a situation. When I was in 9th grade my parents moved our family from California to Kentucky. It was incredibly hard to leave my family, friends, and the only home I’d ever known, but God uses that to completely change the trajectory of our family and I can’t imagine now what our lives would be like if we hadn’t moved away.
God bless you. I never thought of those two words quite like that. I thought like many that The End is well the end. Finished over and done with. But as I stop to meditate on some of the battles we have face as a family it makes sense. The End is really just a stepping stone to get to the next level. In 2012 we filed for bankruptcy and lost our home to foreclosure. While we packed up our home and got ready to move to a totally different country little did we know that three years later we were going to be signing on the dotted line to purchase once again the same house we had lost. Words fall short to describe what awsome story writer we have in our Heavenly Father and what He does for His creation. I believe its Him giving us the opportunity to give Him all the glory.
There was a guy I liked in college who had just started dating another girl when she quit college. So I tried to be a good friend to him. When I found out he had gotten engaged to the other girl, I cried. But that freed me up to finally see what a good guy my current husband is. And only a few years after we were married, we found out that the first guy had died in heart surgery, leaving his wife with 7 kids and another on the way. In other words, the ending of that potential relationship led me into a much better beginning of another.
We’re enjoying our new beginning in Kentucky with our kids and grandkids. It was hard to end 30 years of friends and relationships in northern Virginia. But it’s a blessing to be surrounded by family. Our kids all moved to Kentucky and Nashville. So it was easy to retire to a much cheaper and less congested area.
I misstepped and tore the ligaments in my ankle, at 18 years old. It changed everything. I could never wear heels again or go dancing. The man I thought I was going to marry… I realized the only thing we really had in common was dancing. It took me a long time to accept that God was removing a bad relationship from life. I wasn’t listening to the other whisperings He sent. I’ve worked hard to learn to listen to the the slightest whisper from God.
Great perspective, Heather! There have been so many endings (and new beginnings) in my life. Some I would not have chosen, even those that are inevitably part of the circle of life. But yes to the new beginnings. Planting a seed ends the seed as we know it, but brings forth something wholly different and beautiful.
I typed The End just yesterday… and started back at the beginning half an hour later!
Clink! << my coffee mug to yours.
Reading your story made me aware of the end and a new beginning, you got me to realize when I resigned my job after 14 years that it was the end but a new beginning for me.
My mother in law is a renal patient and recently she started getting pains in both lower limbs starting from hip to toes if I had not resigned my job we would be forced to pay someone to take care of her during the day.
God is all wise when we trust Him to take care of our future, He always comes up with the right ways for us to grow in our lives here on earth in Him. Thank you for these words of wisdom my friend
PS .if I was working at my job I would not have the time to read the entirety of my emails as I would have focused on the company I was employed with financial status.
My 160 pound weight loss>
It took me about 20 years to figure out that having to quit grad school without my degree in order to help with a major transition in my home church was actually a blessing on many levels. It’s been about 7 years since I lost my engineering job for health reasons accompanied by some unfair management choices. Now, I am so writing a novel about it! I think the length of time in the valley-like stories (Joseph’s time in prison) makes it harder to expect the start of a more hope filled story. But, hey, the sun set last night and came up again this morning. Yup, God’s got this. I’m good to go!
Thank you for sharing Trudy! I love hearing stories of how God puts everything into place to give us something better than we would have managed on our own.
Putting an abusive marriage behind me and starting over with nothing but two kids and the clothes on my back.
Amen Melynda! It can be SO hard to see what God is doing when you’re in the middle of it. Thankfully experience teaches us time and again just how faithful God is. Thank you for sharing!!
Lots of endings for me. When I got married, had each of my kids. Every time we moved, celebrating 50 years of marriage. When my parents died. Every time I changed jobs. But God was with me every step of the way.
Oh wow! You gave me chills – thank you for sharing! I hope this is as true for you as it is for me, but as I’ve gone through life and have been able to look back and see how God was at work in situations that seemed desperate at the time, my faith has grown. Now when I find myself in a situation that is difficult to face, I know that God is at work in the midst of it. I walk through whatever the situation is with faith because, by God’s grace, I understand now. God is always trustworthy and true, even if we can’t see it in the moment. What a great God we serve!
I’m so glad you could visit today Lila! What a great ending (and beginning)! I can think of a few relationships that didn’t turn out the way I had hoped at the time. I’m so glad God directs our steps even when we think we know better. ^_^ Thank you for sharing!
Ha! We moved to Northern Virginia from Idaho, so we did the opposite – moved from peace and quiet to crazy congestion and angry drivers. Yet even in that, God was at work. We never would have come to the east coast if God hadn’t given us a crystal-clear “The End” in Idaho. He gave us that beginning, though – that start of a new chapter – right in the midst of all the chaos that is Northern Virginia. I’ve grown closer to God here and have also come to a much better and deeper understanding of who He is. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I know, too, that this chapter in our lives isn’t going to be forever. We will get another “The End” someday, and God will move us again. (Hopefully, like you, it’ll be to somewhere less congested!) :-)
Oh my word – that had to have been so hard! Facing a life-changing injury so young, when you’re still figuring out who you are – I’m so glad that you’re able to look back and see that God was working all things together for good. What a blessing that you learned from it, too, and have learned to lean in to God’s voice, to listen for those whispers. Thank you for sharing!
I hadn’t thought of the seed perspective – what a great way to look at it! And congratulations on your “The End!” I happily wrote those words a week ago – so that might be why this topic was on my mind. ^_^
Hi, Heather!
This post has changed how I think about endings! Lots of great food for thought. Thank you!
Angeline – I’m glad you could stop by today and share your ending/beginning with us. I’m so glad you can be there for your mother-in-law, too. I’m sure she appreciates it and enjoys having your help, and I’m positive that you will never regret spending this time with her and letting her know that she is a priority to you. Hugs!
Woohoo! That’s definitely one worth celebrating! Thank you for sharing Kelley.
Hi Heather Thank you for sharing this post I hadn’t looked at it like this before !
Thank you for sharing this lovely post.
I remember crying all night and telling God to take from me the attraction I felt for a guy who had been annoying me for some time. I wanted it to end so badly. The next day he apologized, asked me to the movies and we started dating. It was a book worthy ending of a life being single. We’re now married with two boys.
Thanks for sharing – you’ve given me a lot to reflect on.
Amen to that! And God’s mercies are new every morning. I suppose that’s a lot like what we’ve been talking about, right? If the sun didn’t set, it couldn’t rise. If God didn’t put an end to yesterday, today would never have started. God doesn’t end anything without starting a new work in us.
I can’t imagine how difficult or painful that ending was, but praise God that He moved you out of that situation, that He gave you that ending so that you could find a new beginning. Hugs!
You’re so right. Life is full of endings, and not all of those endings make us happy – like when a loved one dies – but we can still find joy in the midst of those endings because we know that God is starting something new and beautiful.
I’m glad you could stop by the blog Caitlyn!
Thank you for stopping by Sarah!
I LOVE your story! Thank you for sharing! You’re right – that’s totally book-worthy. My question in…what was he doing to annoy you so much? ^_^
Thank you for stopping by today Chanel!
One of my side hustles ended, and I was disappointed. I opened my email, and I was offered gig work for someone else. The Lord provides.
He paid attention to me a lot then it was cold the next day. I understand now he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and didn’t want to drag anyone with him. So he was fighting this thing between us too. But…. He went on dates with other two women who didn’t want more than a fling during different times in the previous months leading to out first date. At that time, he acknowledged our relationship would be the real deal (I’m not a fling kind) and he had no idea what would happen to us if we decided to start a relationship because his professional choices might have sent him across country… (neither of us knew at the time that it ended up being my professional choices that separated us, to another country).
I ended up oversharing but this was a trip on memory lane going back 14 years.
When the last daughter graduated from highschool, we ended that chapter! And on to a new beginning of being empty nesters. It’s not something I ever longed for but it’s here now and we make the best of it. Happy the girls do come home occasionally, though.
It sounds like the two of you have shared an adventure. :-)
Sometimes we have to realize what we don’t want before we can narrow down what we do want. I’m glad for both of you that you realized what you really wanted (and what God had for you, obviously) was each other.
Amen! God is so good. When He ends something, we can always trust that He has the next thing already lined up for us. It might not happen when we want it to happen, and it might not look like what we think we need next, but God always knows better than we do both what we need and when we need it. :-)
Sometimes I think that the transition is the hardest part of any new stage in life. Getting used to the new normal – whether it’s a change in health, family, or location – can be a challenge. Especially for someone who’s as change-averse as I am!
I hope you and your husband are enjoying some wonderful quality time together!!
Beautiful reminder Heather!
Today is The End of our cruise :( … but more vacations to come :)
Catching up on the posts…
Just over a year ago my dear husband of 45 1/2 yes died after a very extended illness. It was definitely a The End time. I am still sorting out all that there is to learn from this ending, but I know God is in control.
I am glad to learn of a new author.
Wow these are very good truths! Very well said. ❤️
One of my “The End” moments has been my battle with infertility. All my life I’ve dreamed of being a Mom and finding out that it wasn’t going to happen the normal way felt like The End. Doctor visits, tests, medicines, fertility diets, no hope for success or change-felt like The End. The devil mocked me and asked me where my God is? My faith that I thought was so strong was shaken in a way it had never been before. We fostered a little one for a bit and loved him. But then he left. The End. Months turned to years. But God in His goodness directed our steps to Embryo Adoption and we will soon be doing an Embryo transfer-basically it’s like doing IVF with donor embryos. We are so excited for the opportunity to become parents and I get to carry my adopted child and bond with it for the whole pregnancy. It has been such a gift and I’m so glad that Infertility was not the end of my story. ❤️
Trusting God with the big changes in life.