Endings and Beginnings

Beginnings and Endings go together.

A journey begins and ends. The universe began, and one day will end. Life begins with a seed, and hopefully produces fruit, before it ends.

When I began to train for Ministry, in August 2005, a journey began, that one day come to an end. With the grace of God, that journey ended fruitfully, in November 2009, with successful completion of my training.

But that end heralded the beginning, and continuation, of a search for the people and place that God was calling me to serve. The end of that search, by the congregation's election of me to become their next minister, triggered the ending of my 49 years of living in Edinburgh.

That ending will be accompanied by a new beginning, of my living in the Sutherland village of Tongue. I will be serving the people who live in and visit the parish of Melness and Tongue, comprising those two villages, and the surrounding communities that make up the whole parish.

The transition between ending and beginning takes place in only a few days now. The removal people will arrive, pack up our belongings, and take them North, ready for us to start again.

The Bible is full of journeys, with all their beginnings and endings. God walks with us every step of the way, leading us onwards, drawing us towards Him and his home.

There is always an Exception to the Rule. God was, and is, always will be. Those who put their trust in Him, walk with Him through his son Jesus Christ, live with Him forever.

God's party is not a private party! Everyone is welcome, but no-one is forced. Everyone can choose, to be there, or to stay away. The journey goes on ...