On July 15, my wife, Lisa, and I will conclude our time as pastors at our church. As the date approaches, I have been thinking about endings. How can you have a good ending? Is there such a thing as a perfect ending? How can we have the best ending possible with the good folks at our church?
Katherine Anne Porter was a twentieth-century writer who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1966. In reflecting on her writing, Porter said, “If I didn’t know the ending of a story, I wouldn’t begin. I always write my last lines, my last paragraph, first. And then I go back and work towards it. I know where I’m going. I know what my goal is. And how I get there is God’s grace.”
Porter sums it up well. Knowing the ending can guide our actions and open us to God’s grace along the way.
I do not know exactly the ending we will experience at our church, but I suspect it will be filled with gratitude for the wonderful years we have shared, tears in remembering that we have been deeply blessed, some fears as we all move into an unknown future, and deep hope that we will continue to journey with God.
This week, Lisa and I will have our portrait taken, which will join the portraits of other former ministers in the church’s concourse. This act reminds me that our time together is fleeting, but the congregation will continue its ministry, with God’s grace, for many years to come.