beginnings

This is a recent post from my buddy mike. If you want to read more of his musings his link is in the blog roll...part 2 on Volunteers coming soon!

beginnings are often subtle. it is not always easy to realize when it is the end of one season and the beginning of another. usually we look back and say, "that's when it all began." sometimes we resist the beginning of the next and other times we long for it to come. times overlap like the links in a chain. even if we recognize the beginning of the next, there are still remnants of the past.
i think the times of transition are the most difficult. when is it time to let go and take hold?when does the beginning actually begin? i am reminded of Moses' transition from desert dweller to national leader. when did he actually embrace being God's agent of deliverance? did it begin at the burning bush? was it the moment he entered Pharaoh's court? maybe it wasn't until he parted the red sea? it doesn't seem clear to me. maybe it wasn't to Moses either.even the creation story. while it starts with 'in the beginning' we see that creation actually took some time. the light and the sea did not begin at the same time. the plants and animals and adam did not show up on the same day. did the world begin with verse 1 or was it when God was finished and said 'it is good'? then we can debate if each 'day' was a literal 24 hour period or a more hebrew understanding of 7 days or period of time. did the beginning happen in 144-172 hours or was 144-172 billion years? and is the beginning marked by the dawn of humanity? or by the voice that spoke it into existence?
how long was the beginning?how long IS the beginning?how long until we look back and say, "oh . . . that was it right there . . . " ? sometimes we don't get to enjoy the transition times, the overlapping of the seasons, because we are too busy holding on to what is slipping away or maybe too preoccupied with what may be coming. Past/Future fear/hope nostalgia/dread.
i think i'm ready for the beginning, of course it may have already happened.