Labor Day weekend has become a very difficult holiday for me. One that I would like to delay and push back until it falls into oblivion and never arrives.  For several years, in my mind, Labor Day has signified “Endings.”  It is the end of summer, warm weather, vacations and fun.  It is a time when cottages are closed, t-shirts are traded in for sweaters, swimming pools are winterized and vacation euphoria fades to a memory.  Eleven years ago, another significant “Ending” invaded my Labor Day Weekend; life on earth ended for my Dad and life for me has never been the same.

As I meditated on the end of summer, the end of Dad’s life and other endings I have faced, the sweetness of a still small voice invaded my thoughts.  Speaking through the sadness to reach to the core of my heart, it said, “It really isn’t an ending, but a completion.”  Everything has a season and a mission to fulfill with only one goal; to reach completion.

Summer must happen; it is a time of growing and refreshing.  Everyone enjoys vacations and the fresh fruits and vegetables that come from sunny days and warm summer rains.  Once the harvest has been gathered in, the fields and plants have come to completion; it is time to rest.  Without completion there would be no need for a new beginning.  Without the end of summer, there would be no need for the beauty of the autumn leaves, crisp apples, pumpkins and Thanksgiving gatherings.  There would be no winter with crackling fires, snuggly sweaters and snow angels.  The freshness of spring, tulips, and tender green buds on the trees would be lost in an endless summer.

 As for my Dad, his season on earth had to end so he could move on to what God had always planned for him. The sadness still hovers and I miss my Dad but his mission was fulfilled, he finished the course and reached completion. 

Some endings are more difficult than others but God always has a new beginning just waiting for each season to reach completion.  Whether you have just crossed from a completion to a new beginning or you are struggling with a completion that has no new beginning in sight, God has a plan for this season that will ultimately culminate in a COMPLETION not an ENDING.