Beginnings and Endings, Actions and States of Being

Beginnings. We all have them. The beginning of the day. The beginning of a job. The beginning of a book … a game … a project.

Endings. We all have them. The ending of a movie. The ending of our school years. The ending of a date … a meal … a year.

Many beginnings come from actions. Then, the beginning becomes a state of being. Some beginnings start as a state of being, then add the actions.

In the Beginning …

Most people, even those who’ve never read the Bible, know Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (NKJV) An action—God “created.” He made all things: the earth, skies, stars, seas, plants, animals, and us—people, His greatest creation. He gave us a beginning.

Some people know John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (NKJV) A state of being. God was. And Jesus was. No need of an action. God simply was and IS Our Beginning. And I John 4:8 tells us, “God IS love.” The Divine Beginning of Love.

A Love Story Begins

In February, hearts and minds … and pocketbooks … turn towards love—the action of love and the state of being in love. We give cards, chocolates, and flowers to the ones we love—an action showing our state of being in love.

Love stories have a beginning. Some in youth, some later in life. Some began with a date, others a chance meeting. Some miraculous, some unique, some downright fun. The latter started the love story of me and my husband.

Kevin and I met in eighth grade in the cafeteria at our junior high school. My lunchbox held a bag of peanuts in the shell. “Anyone want some peanuts?” I said not expecting a reply, since the other students didn’t talk to me.

“I’ll take ‘em.” I turned to see who’d spoken … and fell in love. There stood a boy … and he’d talked to me. I couldn’t speak but handed him the peanuts. He took them, began to walk away, then turned and said, “Hey, next time shell them!”

Most of you think I told him to go shell his own peanuts, right? Nope. The next day, I brought in a bag of shelled peanuts. He showed up and took them with nothing else said. The rest of that year, I kept looking for him, but he’d melded back into the crowd. A beginning and an ending of love for me … or so I thought.

A Love Story Continues

Fast-forward to my junior year in high school. I still didn’t connect with most of the students, preferring to read and study to keep straight A’s. I’d gone to the library, grabbed a stack of books, and went to check out. While waiting, I heard someone say something that took me back to eighth grade with a delightful shiver down my spine: “Hey there. Do you have any peanuts?”

Yep, it was him, and wow, had he grown! You know the saying, “Six foot two and eyes of blue”? It was written about Kevin. He explained he wasn’t supposed to be at my school since he lived closer to another high school. However, he’d wanted to take electronics, and his school didn’t offer them. (Can you imagine?! No electronics?! Of course, it was 1977.) For his final two years, he’d attend his school for half the day and mine for the other half. Regardless of how it happened, one bag of peanuts later—shelled, of course—and our future had a definite second beginning! This year, we’ll celebrate 46 years of marriage.

Falling in love, an action and a state of being all wrapped up in one.

A Beginning for Everyone

Each of us has had a beginning, an action which created us, gave us a state of being— made us a person. Our birth into this world brought the beginning of our lives as we know them.

We became a person. A child with a body, mind, heart, and soul. The beginning of our lives evolves into the person we will become—our state of being. And regardless of what that state is, we will breathe, live, grow—actions.

My Beginning – Actions and States of Being

In the beginning, I became the daughter of two loving parents—my first state of being on this side of the womb. Three years later, I was a sister of two brothers—a second state of being. I was also a granddaughter, great-granddaughter, niece, great-niece, cousin. All these states of being because I had the beginning action of being created.

As time went by, I grew up, went to school, and learned to write. I entered the workforce, got married, and had children. These actions brought me to new states of being—a student, hostess, bookkeeper, trucking router, gift shop attendant, wife, mother. Eventually, my dreams came true as I became a homeschool teacher and a freelance writer and editor. And now, the best of all, a grandma!

And Then Endings

The first day of school, my first job with a paycheck, our wedding day, our children’s births, our first home, our first dog, and so forth—beginnings. Some with calm endings, such as graduation. Some had exciting endings—rice thrown in the air, landing in my hair, and getting caught in my shoes. And some were sad. Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is never a happy ending.

Endings happen with actions, actions that create a state of being that we’d longed for … or never wanted. I always want happy endings when I read a book or watch a movie. I want happy endings for our children and grandchildren as they pursue their life goals. And I especially want happy endings for each of them and all my family through their acceptance of Jesus’s gift of salvation.

Between the Beginning and the Ending

We started this post talking about the beginning of the earth. Remember, “In the beginning, God created ….” Genesis 1:31 – 2:2 tells of the ending after six days of creating this incredible world we live in. It reads, “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! … On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested.” (NLT)

The words “looked … saw … finished … rested” show the actions God did on that last day of creation. The beginning of the creation of earth as we know it had its ending. But God, in His infinite love for us, didn’t stop there. After He finished and rested, He watched, over cared for, fed, clothed, gave shelter to, helped, healed, and loved—actions He did for us as recorded in the Holy Bible and seen in our lives.

“In the Beginning” to “It is Finished”

BUT He still didn’t stop. He created the beginning of the final ending by sending His Son, Jesus, to earth to take our sins to the cross. His most important action in the New Testament.

As we read earlier, in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word.” Jesus—the Beginning. And hundreds of years later, in John 3:16, we read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (NKJV) Only 33 years after He came to earth, we see in John 19:30, that after being beaten and rejected, Jesus hung on the cross, His life blood being spilled for us onto the ground. And “He said, ‘It is finished.’”

God was. He “loved … gave.” Jesus was. He said, “It is finished.” An ending … or so the people thought. But He rose three days later a victor from the grave. He lives! Hallelujah! Jesus was. Jesus IS!

All that’s left is for us to choose the best beginning of our lives here on earth—accepting Jesus’s sacrifice, believing He died for our sins and rose again, and confessing our undying love and devotion to Him for the rest of our lives. The week before Christmas our youngest granddaughter did that very thing, and oh, the rejoicing it created, and the beginning of her walk with Jesus!

And One Eternal Beginning!

To end this post, I leave you with one last ending and one infinite beginning. Jesus told us before His death that this world as we know it will cease. He will return one day, and there will be an ending for all mankind. Those who choose to turn from God will not have that happy ending we spoke of. BUT those of us who believe and walk with God will begin an eternal beginning in heaven with Him. Which ending will you have?