Dr. Mary C. McDonald
It was sunny and warm, almost like an early Spring day, when I pulled out of my driveway. In spite of the weather, I knew that it was the day after Thanksgiving when I saw my neighbors arranging Christmas decorations on their lawns, hanging wreaths on their front doors, and tying bright red bows on their mailboxes. “It wasn’t Christmas Eve yet, I have plenty of time,” I thought, as I glanced at my own lawn. I still had the four foot wooden witch that I put up for Halloween standing by my front door. The carved hat on the top of its head made it look more like a pilgrim than a witch, so I decided that it could span two decorating seasons and cover Thanksgiving as well. I made a mental note to put it away later. I didn’t want to be three decorating seasons behind. As I drove down the street I stopped for a minute to admire one of my favorite Christmas decorations. On a neighbor’s front lawn stood a wooden manger filled with straw, a likeness of the makeshift cradle that held the infant Jesus at His birth. Behind it, at the head of the manger, stood a six foot wooden coss, a likeness of the one that held Jesus’ body at his death. “Begin with the end in mind,” I thought, “how appropriate.” All the display needed was a depiction of the Resurrection, perhaps a huge boulder next to an empty tomb, and the message would be complete.
Begin with the end in mind. The thought was not just for Steven Covey’s advice on the habits of highly effective people. After attending three funerals in the course of a week and a half, I was acutely aware of just how significant that thought is in the lives of all people, lives filled with joy and sorrow, love and loneliness, hope and despair. And, three times in that week and a half, I was very conscious of the little dash that comes between the dates of one’s birth and death. That one little line represents all that was done, the life that was lived, and the impact of that life on the lives of others. That dash is who you are, all that comes between your birth and death. It is your ticket to heaven. How is it validated, how many times is it punched? Begin with the end in mind, like the Wise Men. Find God first, before you think you need Him. The manger and the cross depict a life that we are all called to live. You are here not just to be, but to become, knowing where you are headed.
The manger and the cross are signs of the promise from God that binds us all to hope. Jesus is the center of that promise. It is the promise that God is always with you, not just at the beginning, or at the end, but throughout your life. He lives on that dash with you, in your joys and in your crosses. No matter how you start out in life, no matter your struggles, successes, trials, or blessings, God is the source and finish of it all. Sorrow and failure are worldly by-products of a life worth living when you choose actions that glorify God and lift up others; when you begin all you do with the end in mind. Beginning with the end in mind is knowing where you are headed, knowing that heaven is always before you. It is a promise of majesty in the mundane, divinity in the daily acts of faithfulness, and everlasting life in living out a faith that is hope beyond vision. It is living a life that takes up the cross of love with no strings attached. And when you do begin all things with the end in mind, you will know the fulfillment of God’s promise of the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.
