Cussing in Hebrew

So I just discovered today that the first word in the Bible, in the Hebrew language, is Bere’shit…

The first thing I did when I read that was check it on Google.  Yeah, it’s really true.  Multiple sites, including the omniscient Wikipedia, told me so.  There was even a Jewish comedic blog with the title, “Does a bere’shit in the woods?”

The next thing I had to do was overcome my sudden case of the giggles…

Okay, it’s not pronounced that way, but I still have this pre-pubescent reaction to seeing the word in print.  I feel just a bit naughty.

looks very pretty in Hebrew, doesn't it?

Bere’shit means “In the beginning” (if you haven’t already figured it out), and is not only the first word in the Hebrew Bible, but the title of the first book (“Genesis” means “In the beginning”).  It brings to mind this saying:

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

I told you I was feeling naughty.

But truly, I feel like I have been given a new beginning.

There are lots of beginnings in life, and they hinge on the ending of something else.  You start school, and you end your time at home, you graduate from one school to another—each an ending and a beginning; you get married and end your single life; you choose to be a follower of Jesus and you end your life of open rebellion.

Some beginnings are obvious; August 28, 1972, my birthday; December 18, 1993, my wedding date; October 5, 2010, the date I reached out for help with my OCD and depression.

Other beginnings are slow and less noticeable; they become conspicuous by their absence—the endings that were created.  Somewhere along the line, I quit sneaking out of bed to sleep in the closet.  I’m not sure when I quit tapping my fingers against my hand when riding in the car, either.  And I usually wake up now without wishing I was dead. 

These beginnings signify the beginning of the end.  The end of depression.  The end of slavery to compulsions.  The end of being a "less-than" person.  And they signify the beginning of what?  What I choose to fill them with.  Reliance, not on self, but on El-Roi—the Father Who Sees Me; deeper communication between me and my husband; and an understanding that I am a valued and valuable person, if only for the reason that I am a beloved daughter of the King.

And these beginnings and endings want me to shout out and tell others that there can be new beginnings that will be born out of the sufferings that are the horrible reality for them today; that I didn’t think that I would have new beginnings, but I’m smiling and I’m laughing and I’m finding new purpose in my life.

Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.
Anne Sullivan

I never thought my healing journey would be as rough and rugged as it’s been so far. I never thought it would take so many twists and turns, or that I would stumble and fall so many times and have to start over again.  I never thought I’d learn so much about myself, life, love, God, and the wonderful beauty of His amazing grace.

What about you?  Is there something you want to change in your life?  New beginnings, new endings; they can all be achieved one step at a time—sometimes those steps go backwards, but as long as motion continues, you can learn, and the “failing” will turn to growing.  Just try.

If all you can do is crawl, start crawling.
Rumi