Tuesday, June 9

Today’s Readings: Psalm 30; 1 Samuel 10:1-16; John 16:12-24; 2 Corinthians 6:3-13; Psalm 126

A few days ago, I connected with an old friend who is going through a painful time of transition. The transition involves his career. You see ten years ago my friend uprooted his family from the East Coast and came all the way to Denver in order to pursue his dream job. For several years he flourished in the position. The past few years, however, his relationship with his employer began to disintegrate until suddenly – promises were broken and the relationship was damaged beyond repair. “The pain,” he sighed, “feels totally overwhelming.” In talking further with my friend, I asked him a question that surprised him. I asked him what the pain might be signaling. “Does the pain you feel signal the end of your dreams,” I asked, “or could the pain represent something else?” “Like what?!” he asked. “Well, the pain that you feel might also represent the birth pangs associated with the birthing a new period of your life.” You see my friend had been thinking of switching fields for a while now. The comfort and security of his current position, however, had made it highly unlikely that he would have ever had the nerve to take the risk to change professions. But now – because his current job is ending – he’ll be able to pursue another dream of his. That realization helped my friend re-frame his situation and begin to move on. I was reminded of that conversation I had with my friend as I read today’s passage from the Gospel of John – for in that passage the evangelist quotes Jesus as saying: “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar” (John 16:21-22 from The Message). Perhaps you – like my friend – are currently experiencing a time of hardship in your life: a time when the pain you feel makes it seem as if you are in the midst of death throes. If so, remember that pain does not always signal the end of life – it can also signal the beginning of a new life. May that realization give you strength to see beyond the pain. Til next time…