Thought for the Week

While I was in Cathkin High last week I noticed that there was a real sense of change about to come. The seniors were still off on study leave, while there was talk of the new first years coming up for their transition visits this week. For the teachers, they were preparing for the end of the school year with final assessments, report writing, and thinking about packing up to move to different classes. However, what was interesting speaking to pupils is that it’s not really the ending they are thinking about, but the new beginnings. This week sees many move up to their next year group, with excitement, and a little worry about what is to come. For some it will be a completely new school, or a year where exams start, and for others, their last year at school. I recently saw this quote, “No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending” Thinking about endings and beginnings I came to the conclusion that that we don’t start over, but we begin again right where we are, with the possibility to make things better in our lives. For those young people at school, this time is not an ending, it’s them beginning again from where they are right now, and this can be true for all of us. If we feel that we are in a place where change is needed, we can’t change the past, but we can start again right where we are, and this can lead to positive changes in our lives. For some of us, we turn to the word of God each day, and through this we can also be changed, again, not by changing the past, but by starting afresh right in the midst of our present situation. By doing that we may see the most amazing transformations in our lives. Alison Kennedy, Flemington Hallside Church