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Submitted
by SG Marilyn Olson
Each major transition in our lives requires our undivided time and
attention if we are to be successful. Each one also presents a
gift—if we’re open to receiving it. Some of these gifts are
easy to identify: the spring moments of new beginnings; the summer
moments of easy, carefree living; and the autumn moments of
bountiful harvest.
Other “gifts” are not
so easy to identify, such as the harsh storms that often usher in
a new season, the oppressive heat of summer, or the bitter cold of
winter. These other gifts require us to look beyond the
appearances and peer much deeper for their significance.
Every new beginning
requires an ending but we cannot enjoy one without the other. Even
the transitional storms of our lives are necessary to clear the
atmosphere of old ways of thinking that keep us from fully
experiencing and enjoying the next seasons of our lives.
Each person’s life is a
continuous process of change. We must learn to accept the process
and go with it. Sometimes the challenges we encounter seem like
dark tunnels, yet every tunnel has a light at the end of it. This
light represents the gift—whatever it is we are to learn, to
heal, or to change. The darkness will pass as we move toward the
light, as we gratefully receive the tunnel’s gift.
Remember the verse in Genesis 1:3:
“then God commanded ‘let there be light’ and light
appeared.
If we remember that there
is a gift in every crisis or challenge—in every transition of
life—we will be able to adapt to change more easily. As we
discover the gift in every season, we learn to trust that loving,
divine purpose behind it. We
become more open to new adventures that may be more rewarding and
exciting than any we may have chosen in a resistant state of mind.
Let us all live in the
presence of God and in a time of peace, love, and order. And let
us learn to trust God for right answers revealed in the right time
and way.
Tonight we start a “new
season” in the world of Job’s Daughters.
Let us all pledge to welcome the season, the changes, the
challenges and the promises that all of us have made.
And let us have the courage and dedication to weather the
storms we may encounter. If
each one of us promises to “leave the well-beaten path behind”
in order to find new adventure just imagine how much our Order and
our Daughters will benefit and grow!
And let us all recognize the “power of one.”
“I am only one person: but still I am one.
I cannot do everything.
But still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do the something I can do!”
If you think that what you do in the Bethel is
unimportant just remember what the effect of your actions are.
If it’s negative you alone can bring down or ruin an
entire Bethel or jurisdiction.
But if your thoughts and actions are positive, encouraging,
loving and respectful YOU can make the your Bethel so much better
because of the power of one – and that person is YOU!
Thank
you to everyone in attendance tonight at this installation that
begins the 89th year of Supreme Session.
The Dixieland Express – Where East meets West is
officially ready to leave the station.
There’s work to do, friends to make, feelings to mend,
history to make, and fun to be had. Are you all ready to board our train? Bob, Megan, Jenna and I are leaving soon – don’t get left
behind!!
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