{"id":339,"date":"2024-01-11T09:22:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T14:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/findingyourwayback\/?p=339"},"modified":"2024-01-11T09:22:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T14:22:44","slug":"is-this-the-beginning-of-your-life-or-the-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/findingyourwayback\/2024\/01\/is-this-the-beginning-of-your-life-or-the-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Is This the Beginning of Your Life, or the End?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/h3>\n Image courtesy of Vecteezy.Com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBeginning or End?<\/h3>\n Dare I ask? How old are you? I\u2019m 68 years old. I often find myself tempted to ask, \u201cIs this the beginning or end?\u201d I deduce that the end is near in response to achy muscles, crackling bones, and dull memory. My wife calls me an eternal optimist. When it comes to anticipating the future, however, I\u2019ll be the first to admit that, at times, I see the darkness rather than the light.<\/p>\n By all calculations,\u00a0 I am over the hill, on the decline, and some may even think I\u2019m feeble. I\u2019ve noticed lately that young people, especially women, seem to be holding the door for me<\/em> now. Although I\u2019d like to think it\u2019s because of my handsome good looks, the truth is they\u2019re just not sure if I can walk and hold the door at the same time.<\/p>\n Are These Really the Golden Years?<\/h3>\n My dad always said that the golden years were tarnished. Dad was an optimist, too, but during their last few years, he and Mom experienced a lot of disappointment and failing health. Both my mom and dad passed away relatively early in life (mid-70s), and they were never able to live out their retirement dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cTarnished\u201d may be a pretty good description of how most of us are experiencing our golden years. Whether we face financial, emotional, relational, or physical challenges, or a combination of all of the above, being on the downside of life can get pretty depressing. Some days, I can identify with Zig Ziglar,\u00a0who used to say, \u201cSomebody done wiped all the shine off my apple.\u201d<\/p>\n So, if I were to ask you again, \u201cIs this the beginning of your life or the end?\u201d what would you say? Maybe my words have discouraged you and convinced you that this is the end. But don\u2019t stop reading! If you do, you\u2019ll miss the good news.<\/p>\n Time for a Fresh Start<\/h3>\n As a teenager, I listened to one of the first contemporary Christian bands called, \u201cBill, Dave, and Mary<\/a>.\u201d One song says, \u201cToday is the very first day of the rest of your entire life.\u201d This reiterates the words of Paul. He says, \u201cForgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead<\/span>\u201d (Phil 4:13-14 NKJV<\/a>).<\/p>\n So, this is the very first day of the rest of my life. And I\u2019ve put the part of my life I\u2019ve already lived behind me. Therefore, my life is just beginning. My life is given a new perspective! Every single day becomes an opportunity to start again.<\/p>\n Have you seen the movie, \u201cGround Hog Day<\/a>?\u201d It\u2019s one of my favorites. The film promotes the concept that one can relive a day until the previous day\u2019s mistakes are corrected. I am certainly not saying this is a biblical principle. However, the concept of a fresh start each morning is consistent with what Scripture teaches. My wife\u2019s favorite verse is \u201cHis mercies never come to an end; <\/span><\/span>they are new every morning\u201d (Lam. 3:22-23 ESV). This verse indicates that even though we can\u2019t start over each day, God can and does. His mercy and grace cover our past shortcomings and present us with a clean slate each morning.<\/span><\/p>\n Beginning or End?<\/h3>\n That\u2019s really up to you. Knowing what to do and doing it are often entirely different. Everything mentioned above is true. However, nothing will change if we don\u2019t take practical steps to change our attitudes, thought patterns, and habits. You may find another article<\/a> of mine, about beginning the new year helpful. I also have a short booklet<\/a> available as a free download, which lays out a plan for establishing a new direction for your life.<\/p>\n I pray that you will begin approaching each new day as a gift\u2014a present from God, which, when unwrapped, will bring you purpose, peace, and promise.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beginning or End? Dare I ask? How old are you? I\u2019m 68 years old. I often find myself tempted to ask, \u201cIs this the beginning or end?\u201d I deduce that the end is near in response to achy muscles, crackling bones, and dull memory. My wife calls me an eternal optimist. When it comes to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5336,"featured_media":342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60,56],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-joy","tag-new-year"],"yoast_head":"\nIs This the Beginning of Your Life, or the End? Beginning or end?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beginning or End? Dare I ask? How old are you? I'm 68 years old. I often find myself tempted to ask, "Is this the beginning or end?" 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