I have been reading Ecclesiastes this past week and a specific verse caught my attention and has been on my mind ever since.

"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning." Ecclesiastes 5:17

When I read this verse it made me think of my life as a child of God, as a wife and then as a mother. I think about how I've started out in each of these areas and how I've grown and changed since I began. In the beginning of motherhood I was clumsy, stressed and uncertain. Of course I loved my boy, but I hadn't been a mommy before so I had to learn on the job. Today, seven months in and with a lot of prayer and help from Jesus, I'm a better mommy then when I began, more patient and skilled, not perfect, but further down the path.

As a wife as well I am better today than when we first said "I do". I was excited and fearless at the start, full of love and ideas of how a perfect marriage should be, but then reality hit and I was forced to face my sin and my selfishness. I've changed along the way and had to apologize A LOT, but by the grace of God I've also discovered a stronger, more pure love for my husband and become a better wife. I'm deeply in love with Ryan, more than before, but I've still got a lot to learn and a long, hard, beautiful journey ahead.

Similarly, when I gave my life to Jesus I was full of passion for his gospel but I was terribly immature and not always a great reflection of Christ to those around me. But that was just the beginning, His work in me had just been born. Today I am different, not perfect, still requiring a lot of refining and chipping away, but I'm closer to the Lord and a little closer to who he wants me to be.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

So the verse in Ecclesiastes gives me hope and comfort for the future. I am not the best wife or mother or child of God right now but "better is the end of a thing than its beginning" so I'm looking forward to the end....which will really just be another beginning.