Chapters

My spring journey is coming to its end.  In many ways, it is time.  I have been gone a long time.  I spent time with friends that I have not seen for a long time.  We have renewed our dialogue.  We have laughed and cried.  We have look to the past and explored the future in context of the moment we had at hand.  I see a chapter mark being made.  Yet, the story does not end with this chapter.  In fact, it is just beginning.
 
Chapters in our lives often come with natural endings and an invitation for a new beginning.  When others traveled, they found that “it was time to go home.  They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them.”  (Acts 15.33, 34)  Their story is my story and yet my report is unique.  So is yours.
 
I find myself wanting to hear your story.  Tell me the details of your walks with friends.  Describe the great meals and times you had together.  I know there is much that cannot be put into words.  I want to know your stories of hope and wonder.  I long to feel the way beauty touched your life.  The gifts of compassion you witnessed give strength to anyone willing to listen.
 
The point of the reflection is to hear the invitation into the moment we are in now.  We, you as well as I, can make a difference in every situation.  We can be a witness for truth.  We can be a hand of compassion.  We can be instruments that give birth to kindness.  There is at least one miracle in every life each day.  We have the opportunity to be a miracle in the lives of those around us.
 
I will arrive differently than I left.  I know I will not always live up to my ideals.  I also know that the experiences of my journey have transformed me in ways that give me the opportunity to be more than I was.