In the beginning...

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep,

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

-Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been made.

-John 1:1-3

In the beginning….

in my beginning…

in our beginning…

In the beginning….was darkness. In the beginning…was nothing. There is so much in our world now it’s hard to conceive of the minimalist living a few hundred years ago, let alone nothing. In the beginning earth was formless and the Spirit of God was hovering.

In the beginning was the Word. Through Him, the nothing became everything. And the Spirit of God hovered over everything.

Have you had a beginning recently? It may have been a while since you’ve experienced it, you may have to reach back a bit. Or, perhaps, lean forward. Marriage, parenthood, friendship, academics, relationships, careers, recoveries – stories. They have beginnings.

And in the beginning, is God.

In the beginning of motherhood there was a lot of tangled emotions, a lot of unpredictability and a lot of change. A lot of change. I’d never done this before. And babysitting doesn’t count. Nannying doesn’t count. Nieces and nephews? Don’t count. Not really. Because no one else is coming to take over at 11 pm so you can ‘go home’. This isn’t just your job that you can leave in a box after 5 pm each day. It is all consuming.

Because God has created the heavens and the earth, colliding them together to rest in your arms. But if He hadn’t also brought the Spirit to hover over us I’d be in a heap of trouble. In the beginning, it is so easy to reach the end of yourself, the end of what you knew or understood. Through Him all things were made – and tangible, loud, soft, wriggly evidence is right there. Right there. And in the beginning, I became so recklessly aware of my need for Him. All over again.

In the beginning of new friendships, I am awkward and self-conscious. In the darkness under the surface, my little swan legs are moving furiously, trying to figure out how to navigate these new people. I doubt half my interactions, wondering if I did it right. I re-read my texts before sending them, making sure they sound just right. Is that really what I mean to say?

In the beginning, things are formless. We haven’t worked out where the boundary lines are located. Yet, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God, and God is in me and God is in her and we are both in the Word. So, what am I really all that worried about? If I stay in the Word and seek out the Spirit that is willing to hover, it’ll work itself out. Because I’ll be who God intended me to be; she’ll be who God intended her to be.

Here’s a beautiful translation from my kids’ Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. (Truly, even as an adult, you should have a copy of this in your home.)

In the beginning, there was nothing. Nothing to hear. Nothing to feel. Nothing to see.

Only emptiness. And darkness. And…nothing but nothing.

But God was there. And God had a wonderful Plan.

“I’ll take this emptiness,” God said, “and I’ll fill it up! Out of the darkness, I’m going to make light! And out of the nothing, I’m going to make….EVERYTHING!”

Like a mommy bird flutters her wings over her eggs to help her babies hatch, God hovered over the deep, silent darkness. He was making life happen.

God spoke. That’s all. And whatever he said, it happened.

God said, “Hello light!” and light shone into the darkness. God called the light, ‘Day’ and the darkness, ‘Night’.

“You’re good,” God said. And they were.

The Spirit of God has hovered over your life, over your story, and declared that you are good. And He didn’t just sit back and wait to see what would happen next. He is still with you in this beginning, too. Creating. Weaving. Breathing.

Father God, you have declared that I am good! It is so hard to grasp some days, even harder at the beginning of something new. Fears, insecurities, doubts – it all swims around inside of us. Help us, Holy Spirit, to look up. To remember. In these moments we don’t necessarily need Your wisdom, Lord, we need to remember that You are there. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Be in our beginnings now, Father, and prepare us for the ones to come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Worship: 'Peace Be Still' by Julie True (Let this wash over you again and again this week!)

Prayer: (Breathe In) He is my beginning, (Breathe Out) and it is good.