I love a good story : whether it is a movie or a book. One thing that seems to be a common theme through a good story, there always comes a point when it seems the good people are losing. One of my favorite movies of all time is The Shawshank Redemption. If I am channel surfing and I see it is playing, I always stop and finish watching it. The story is about a man named Andy who is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sent to life in prison. After 20 years, the story turns when a man comes forward with a confession that would prove Andy’s innocence. Andy becomes excited about the possibility of going free but in a tragic turn of events the confessor is murdered; the only one who can help prove his innocence. Andy goes into a dark place; all is lost; it’s the bottom of the pit and this is the end. We have all been there. We call it the end of our rope; that place where we feel the world is against us. We say things like, “It can’t get any worse.” “What else can go wrong?”
The Bible is full of these stories. Peter, Paul and the early disciples are thrown in jail, mocked, and beaten. A young man named David is pursued and hunted by an evil King named Saul. Jesus is executed! However, the Bible is also full of promises during these difficult times. Isaiah talks about a new heaven and a new earth. Jesus talks about being born again. John the Baptist proclaims change. Paul preaches that the old have gone and the new is coming. Jesus calls it Resurrection!
The story of Andy does not end with him in the lowest of lows; it ends with freedom and new life. We have all been in the pit and we have all managed to come out on the other side. So when we find ourselves at the “end of our wits, like we can’t go on.” and that is the end of something, but it is the beginning.
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” I’ve felt that many times. My hope for all of us is that ‘the miles we go before we sleep will be filled with the feelings that come from deep caring-delight, sadness, joy, wisdom- and that in all the endings of our life, we will be able to see the new beginnings.” – Mr. Fred Rogers
Blessings, Duawn Mearns