Endings and Beginnings

While working with my first graders in Vacation Bible School this past week, as is usually the case, I learned something new. We were pondering the story of Elijah handing off his mantle to Elisha in 2 Kings chapter 2, and I noticed a circuit.

As Elijah's work was finishing, Elisha's was starting. Elijah's finishing made way for Elisha's beginning. Evidently God's people didn't need two miracle-spawning prophet whiz kids at the same time. I pointed out to my earnest six-year-olds that when the school year ends, summer begins, and when summer days lengthen into autumn ones, we pick up our lesson books again. History yields to and creates the present in much the same way that our youthful hair color gives way to the seasoned gray that bespeaks wisdom and experience (or so I tell myself).

It seems clear from the text that Elisha was reluctant to put on his predecessor's sandals. He pretty much grabbed hold of Elijah's cloak and refused to let him out of his sight, then told the sons of the prophets he met along the way to put a cork in it when they announced Elijah's departure was at hand. This scenario repeated itself three times, after which God more or less made a red carpet in the midst of the Jordan River, thus nudging Elisha to assume his new responsibilities.

I have a rough idea how Elisha must have felt. When I left my husband after 12 years of marriage, I was absolutely terrified. I felt like I was falling off a cliff in slow motion, and dragging two preschoolers along for the ride. God saw to it that I had hands to hold in the form of my beloved parents, whom He guided to nurture me in those fearful days until gradually each succumbed to the mortality that claims all of us. I have often marveled at His kindness in getting me ready for their departure bit by bit, growing my strength even as He depleted theirs. When the day finally came that both pillars had been kicked out from under me, it was as though a new, firm platform had been quietly assembled while I wasn't looking, and I could see through my tears that I was as ready as I'd ever be to cross the Jordan.

Like Elisha, I have found His almighty Spirit more than ample to meet the challenges at hand.

For more like this, check out: 

Morsels for Meditation...: Endings and Beginnings Part 2

Morsels for Meditation...: Setbacks