Ending Well
At Collide, we believe that God uses ordinary women to do amazing things. He meets us exactly where we’re at – in our mess, our pain, our joy, and our stories. We’ve been amazed at how He redeems our brokenness and empowers women in our community and beyond to walk in the confidence of their identity as beloved daughters.
We’d love to introduce you to one of those women, Collide staffer, Ashley Sherron, who we’ve asked to contribute her voice, her story and her wisdom to the Collide blog.
A weird thing happens when you are almost done with something. It’s almost like a switch goes off in your brain and you go into “I don’t care mode.” Have you noticed that? Like when you come to the end of the school year or you put in your two weeks’ notice at a job, suddenly things that used to matter don’t seem to matter anymore. Showing up to work on time isn’t as much of a priority. Going the extra mile on an assignment doesn’t seem necessary. The things that used to be a big deal just aren’t because hey, you’ll be done soon anyway, so what does it really matter?
Over the years, this has been the experience in my own life and what I have observed in others who are nearing the end of something. A few years ago when my boss told me he was leaving and had put in his two weeks at our work, I waited for the inevitable to happen. You know, the canceled meetings, the leaving early, and all the other things people tend to do when they have one foot out the door. But, to my surprise, that never happened. In fact, quite the opposite happened. He kept all of his meetings, came in early, and stayed late, and he even ended up staying beyond his last day to help the company through the budget season. I was perplexed by his actions, especially given the fact that this company had basically pushed him out the door. One day, before he left, I worked up the courage to ask him why he had decided to stay beyond his two weeks to help the company that had burned him so badly. He paused for a moment, clearly surprised by my question. But then he told me it was because he wanted to “end well.”
At first, I was confused by his statement. End well? Why would he care about ending well? After all, he didn’t need a letter of recommendation or to keep any friendships, because he was moving thousands of miles away and had already lined up the perfect new job.
His statement lingered in my mind for weeks. Then one day I was reading the book of John and came across a story I had read many times before, the one about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet during His final days. The chapter starts by saying, “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” (John 13:1) It goes on to say, “After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:5). I had read and heard that story a thousand times prior, but this time the significance of Jesus’ actions in those final moments hit me differently. Jesus knew His time on earth was coming to an end. He knew those were some of His final moments before He went on the cross, yet He chose to do something so humbling… He chose to serve others and end well. In fact, Jesus not only washes His friends’ feet, but He washes His enemy’s feet too. Suddenly, it made sense why my boss had chosen to act the way he did even in the midst of what felt like an unjust situation. He, like Jesus, was choosing to end well and leave a legacy of love and forgiveness.
So perhaps you are nearing the end of a chapter in your life… maybe it’s a relationship, maybe it’s a semester at school, or maybe like my old boss, it’s your job. The end of your chapter may not include sticking around for a budget season or the washing of feet, but whatever your ending looks like, I want to encourage you to fight against the urge that seems to be ingrained inside each of us to stop caring and in fact surprise others (and ourselves) by ending well.
