The Beginning of The End – Breath of Life Women's Ministries

by Dennis Ensor

I attended a graduation exercise of my granddaughter this past Sunday. My heart felt a little bit of a tug—a feeling of dread at the fact that she is so rapidly growing up and away. She is no longer that helpless little baby girl that I once held in my arms while making silly faces and noises.

What seemed a little crazy about the feeling I was having—that feeling of dread—had to do with the fact that this graduation was not from college or high school. It wasn’t even from middle school or primary school. It was from preschool. She’s five years old.

And yet, as silly as it sounds, I got the sense that all those other events were mere moments away. This moment felt a little bit like it was the “beginning of the end.”

Though I may have felt a little bit of that when my boys were small I don’t recall it. And, in fact I remember wanting them to hurry up and get big enough to play catch with me in the yard and on teams at school. But now that I’ve watched that come and go so very quickly, I have a better appreciation for the rapidity with which that passes.

So, though I always want my loved ones to be moving onward and upward, it will probably always be with mixed emotions that I watch them reach their milestones. Of course, in reality, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are no good alternatives–nothing even close.

With that in mind, I know I need to enjoy each moment with the special people in my life, just for the moment itself. I must savor each precious second because, they are so very fleeting.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 (NIV)