Endings and New Beginnings

This has been "one of those weeks". You know the kind where you are trying your hardest to please everyone and get all the jobs done that are on your calendar. Then, in among the hurry of the days' chores, you remember a loss and that wave of sadness washes over your heart for a moment. I had a few of those this week.

An old building where my family and I preformed and worked on many theatrical productions came down this week. The old building had been home to the Baytown Little Theater for 48 years. My participation with the theater group began 33 years ago when my husband and I got married. I have known for a year now that the theater was to be destroyed. Last July a woman having a seizure, drove her car through the side wall of the seating area, fatally damaging the main support beam to the theater. The building was constructed in the late 40's as a grocery store and meat market. It was already way past its prime. So, it didn't take much to cause serious damage to the structure which led to her inevitable demise.

After the date was set to tear down the theater, I made my plans to be present to watch this small, but rather historical thing happen. Wednesday came and I fell out of bed at 7:30, pulled some clothes on, slipped on my flip-flops and drove down to the site with my camera. There were a couple of my friends there to watch too. At a quarter past the scheduled time to begin, the bulldozer's backhoe made the first crunch into the roof of the building, just above the marquee that still held last season's poster. It sounded like a giant animal eating rocks as the jaws of the machine's shovel munched the wood, metal, and fiber glass that once was our box office. A handful of theater friends and onlookers appeared and disappeared to witness the demolition of a building where countless memories, careers in theater and even marriages had taken root. Alongside the numerous theatrical performances, the old building had also played host to many New Year's Eve celebrations, anniversaries, birthdays, and engagements of the actors, families and crew that played and worked inside those walls.

I was glad that I got to witness the demolition because it made the occasion less of a tragedy and more of a bittersweet drama. Seeing the brittle wood splinter like a twig and the rotten walls buckle under the slightest pressure of the shovel, evidenced to me that it was time to bid farewell to this building. On that warm Wednesday morning as I clicked my camera taking pictures of various stages of the demolition, I knew it was the right thing to do. Now working in a temporary space, the BLT board of directors will be working toward the future with plans to rebuild the theater.

Earlier in the week we got news about a dear friend that really is more of a tragedy than a tired old theater being laid to rest. Our friend, who was the associate minister at our church for 28 years, will no longer serve in that position. Our friendship with he and his family has spanned over 33+ years. My husband and I naturally feel sadness and loss over his leaving the church staff. There is a long story behind his resignation, but suffice it to say, his absence will leave a hole in the heart of our church. So many of us came to depend on his wisdom and Biblical knowledge. We asked questions and he always gave us a thoughtfully patient answers. He was available most anytime to help with everything from making coffee, to teaching the proper use of the copy machine, from teaching a class of toddlers about Jesus, to teaching a class of kids to sing classical music. He is always up for a dramatic rendering of a Bible story or singing Beach Boy tunes with a couple of old friends. His knowledge of Bible history is as accurate as the Internet with his research coming from his own library of literature sources and scholarly aptitude not to mention a Master's Degree in Biblical studies. His compassion for those less fortunate often lead him to seek aide in whatever form is applicable to their need at the time. Unlike the theater, there is no replacement in our congregation for one such as our friend and brother. We pray God's blessings on him and his wife as they continue to serve the Lord wherever and in whatever capacity He wills.

Endings and new beginnings are a continuum in all aspects of life whether it be an organization, a church or a life with Christ. The passage of time and events isn't always easy, but with God in control, we must believe that the new beginnings will be nothing short of marvelous. Therefore, I will not look to these endings with sadness but with the hope of new beginnings.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1