Turning Points

Knowing a turning point is coming doesn’t make anything easier.  Understanding the change in the direction of one’s life isn’t a road to happiness.  Yet there are those who know, sense, and understand in a way which allows them to be engaged in the old way right up until the very last step. 
 
This doesn’t seem natural yet it is.  Giving birth isn’t instantaneous.  The process usually takes a minimum of nine months.  Natural death rarely comes without sending signals to the person involved.  Even getting old telegraphs alert signs long in advance of the days when you need help to walk.  The process helps, at least for those who are willing to accept and deal with what is to come.  Even when you move beyond the body there are signals.  You could sense the snow was coming, even without the forecasters telling you about it.  The fact that there is snow on the rooftops this morning isn’t a big surprise.
 
In days gone by others have known something was coming.  “Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father.  Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end.”  (John 13.1)  This model is one that mirrors the birth process.  As the mother stays engaged right through the end she find herself loving the child even more as she loses the intimacy she has grown accustomed to.  The turning point is filled with sadness, yet full of love; she embraces it and lets the process take her on to something even greater.
 
I think men, at least when I speak for myself, miss this point.  I rarely find myself prepared for turning points.  I just want to let them happen.  Engaging fully in life means embracing what I know as well as the things I don’t.  Living fully and completely suggests a lifestyle that loves knowing things will change, spending time to nurtures what will never be harvested, and simply doing what is right without thought of recompense.