We are at the end of summer and the beginning of school. There can be great joy in a new beginning, such as a wedding, the birth of a child, or the start of a new job. At the same time, new beginnings also involve endings, with loss, grief. The divine design is that there is a beginning and an end of one thing before a new beginning arises. (True Christianity 462)
The end of one stage and beginning of another is like an egg hatching. The phase of infancy is so to speak the egg for that of childhood; the phase of childhood is so to speak the egg for that of adolescence and youth; and this phase is as it were the egg for that of adult years. Thus, the person is so to speak repeatedly experiencing birth…. This is so not only when he lives in the world, but also when he enters the next life forever. (Secrets of Heaven 4378, 4379)
When the chick is still in the egg it is warm and protected under the brooding mother hen. A lot of change is going on as the embryo develops into a chick, but all the change is happening on the inside, while the outside seems to be unchanging and unmoving. In our spiritual life, our inner self has to be regenerated before our outward self. Sometimes our dreams and intentions develop in secret for a long time before we are ready to show them to the world.
At some point the protective shell becomes restrictive. The egg can no longer nourish the developing chick. So, the chick leaves behind safety and warmth to break out into a world of new sights, sounds, challenges and adventures.
When the Lord was leaving His disciples, He spoke of the grief they would feel when He went away. “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore, you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” (John 16:20-22)
When we come to an ending, we may lose the comfort, closeness and familiarity of our current situation. What is coming may be challenging, even dangerous, but it will be new life and new joy, and if we allow it, the Lord will be leading us each step of the way.