New beginnings are so often both beautiful and painful simultaneously. Consider the process that occurs when a new life enters the world. From the moment of conception, a person begins growing and changing immediately. They continue doing so until they literally outgrow their home in utero. Then, with natural childbirth, they are quite literally pushed out of their warm, safe cocoon into the harsh, bright light of the world. As their life separates from their mother’s, in a physical sense, after both mother and child have endured the excruciating pain and trauma of that separation, they then face an unspeakably beautiful new beginning together.

Firsts are always exciting and scary. The first day of school, the first date, the first kiss, the first day at a new job, and so on. Our lives are constantly filled with the unknown. Sadly, we typically find the unknown to be something we fear. If we don’t understand it or know what to expect from it, we’re often afraid of it. I believe that is why so many of us struggle with death.

We are afraid to face life without the one we’ve lost. We’re afraid of facing our own mortality, and the older we get, the more cautious we become, as we’re ever more aware of the invisible expiration date stamped on our lives. The greatest unknowns of all…when and how. Those are questions that cannot be answered ahead of time. We begin to see more and more vividly the things most precious to us in life, which are the people we love, and we realize how easily we can start wondering how much time we’ll be granted with them in this life.

If we’re not careful, we’ll become overwhelmed by the earthly perspective of mortality. Yes, we should take every opportunity to love and cherish those who mean so much to us, but to fear saying goodbye to them in this life is to place more value on our time here than on our eternity. Our pastor has been talking lately about living a life shaped by the gospel. He said our “choices either reveal or obscure a gospel-shaped life.” Yes, we’re going to make some really poor choices in our lives, but it’s just as much how we move forward from those choices that will shape our lives, as the poor choices themselves.

Accept or judge. Love or hate. Anger or forgiveness. Help or hurt. Every moment is a choice, and every moment is a chance to make a different one. Is the gospel shaping your life?