The closing of a chapter...the beginning of a book.

I am a fan of mystery books. Growing up I read most of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. Later on I enjoyed the great Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As an English major in college I read Edgar Allen Poe and G.K. Chesterton. And while I have read some mysteries by some modern writers, I tend to find myself enjoying the classic mysteries more. 

My favorite part of a mystery book? The end of the chapters. 

Every single chapter tends to end on a cliff-hanger.

The reader has worked so hard to get to the answer, to understand the complication in this chapter only to find themselves left hanging on the last page. Wait!! Does Nancy Drew make it out of the staircase? Did Holmes really leave Dr. Watson there? 

So, as a reader, what are you to do? 

You turn the page and begin the next chapter!

Nevermind that it is 1:00 in the morning and you have to be at work in seven hours. The average person only needs six hours of sleep, right? 

Turning the page. Beginning a new chapter. So many excellent life metaphors wrapped up in the binding of a book. 

Currently, in my life, I am at the end of a chapter. And, yes, there is a cliff-hanger. Afterall, I am not the author of this story. While I like to pretend at times that I have creative license over my life story, I know that the ins and outs are scripted by God. In case you are wondering, God is a much better author than I am and I wouldn’t want it any other way. While I am not always a willing character in the plot line, I have accepted His gift of salvation and really strive to accept His perfect plan for my life. 

His plan includes a lot of cliffhangers though and it isn’t always satisfying to turn and begin a new chapter when you know the story is about yourself. 

Yet, here I am. Turning the page. 

The last chapter ended this way: I resigned after thirteen years of teaching high school. In June, I boxed it all up and brought it all home. Signed paperwork that declared my resignation and received my last check. 

I do not have another teaching job somewhere. Although, the ironic thing is, one day after I resigned I received a phone call from another school in the area asking if I would consider teaching with them this upcoming year. 

Tempting.

But God closed that chapter, for now. He confirmed that it was time to take a step of faith, to abandon the known and to trust in the unknown. 

In case you are wondering, this was not easy. I wrestled with this for a while. God was holding the pen, ready to write the final words to the chapter, but I wasn’t thrilled immediately. I knew in my heart that I had heard Him and He had sent lots of confirmation my way, but the unknown, the cliff-hanger is perilous. 

Where in the story are you? Do you find yourself facing the end of a chapter and instead of finishing it, you place a bookmark in the creases and close the cover? Afterall, a bookmark means we are coming back to it. This is just a pause, a stopping point, a moment of denial. How long do you let the closed book sit? Has it been staring at you from your bedside? Haunting you from the bookshelf? Or have you even hidden the book, placed it so far out of your reach in hopes that out of sight will also mean out of mind?

If you heard God though, and you know it, the closed book doesn’t do any good. The Holy Spirit will keep knocking, prodding, and pushing you towards the Author. 

The End. A chapter finished, one that was written well and served a great purpose. But the time has come for a new chapter or maybe even a new book. 

In my case, this is both metaphorical and literal. 

A long time ago, back when I couldn’t spell correctly or organize a plot line, God sparked a love in me for the written word. That love was drafted into never-ending drama scripts, weak character development, and cheesy poetry during my childhood. I wore people down with my stories. Eventually, it was honed by loving English teachers and caring mentors who helped craft not only a love for writing, but a respect for it. I remember the first check I received in the mail; my writing was good enough that someone had actually paid me! I was a teenager then. I remember the accolades I received in college as I produced text in creative writing classes. I wrote countless speeches for forensics (collegiate speech and debate) and won awards. 

But I couldn’t bring myself to be a writer. There were too many unknowns and too many people in my life who were quick to point those out. Writing hadn’t always been well-received or abundantly applauded. Afterall, not too many people make it big and then there is the fear of exposure - the concern about being written into a story, made to be a public spectacle. 

So, I taught others to write. And I loved it. I still do. 

But the page is turning. Now I am stepping out into the call, the love of writing and reaching an audience with words that point to His Word. Faithfully closing one chapter to begin a new book, literally. 

No, I do not have a book contract lined up, although I am working on it. No, I do not have followers or a great social media platform. No, I do not have connections in the publishing world. There are more no’s, more unknowns than anything. 

What I do have is an Author who has called, prodded, and pushed me to trust. Where He leads, He equips. Where He guides, He provides. When He closes the chapter, there is a plot-line ahead that has grace scripted between every line. My job is to obey, to listen, to say “Yes.”

I’d like to encourage you to stand in front of that bookshelf and take down that closed book. Open to the bookmark, and as you take a deep breath, turn the page. Allow God to close the chapter, even if it ends on a cliff-hanger. The answers are coming as you turn the page. If you take the step of faith, you too will find out that there is something profound and purposeful in your next chapter, in your next book. Whatever He is calling you out of and into will not only be manageable but it will be meaningful if you embrace the new plot line He has written.

As I step into this newness, and as you step into your own new, my prayer for both of us is this: 

God, we recognize our inability to do this on our own. 

We realize that there is no benefit in keeping the book closed. 

We, reluctantly at times, need a push, a nudge, a poke

To step out in obedience, to walk in trust, to live in the unknown. 

God, if you have truly called us to turn the page, 

Please give us the confidence in You to do so. 

Help us to face the cliff-hanger with hope and not defeat

And to allow You to be the Author at every stage. 

Amen. 

Let this verse be an encouragement to you this week: 

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. - Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) - 

Until next time my friend.