Before & After

I am amazed how much the Christmas season is such a big deal–not only here in America, but all around the world. From decorations, parties and gifts, to music, movies and an all around general sense of good cheer, Christmas has become a phenomenon. And whether people choose to acknowledge this fact or not, it all started with a tiny baby born in a stable over two thousand years ago.

Jesus’ birth was so significant that it literally divided our human timeline in half:  B.C. and A.D. (Before Christ and Anno Domini–Latin for “In the Year our Lord”). And even though secularists--in the attempt to remove the focus on Jesus--changed the labels for the two time periods, (BCE, Before Common Era and CE, Common Era respectively), these spans of time are still distinctive because of the same event–Jesus’ birth.

Just like history delineates a before and after, on a much smaller scale my family has had a defining event that we refer to as before (the event) and after. A few years ago, one of my daughters made some destructive choices that turned our lives upside down. The pinnacle moment took place in the hospital where we thought we were going to lose her. It was a dark and scary time.

By God’s grace and intervention, she recovered and has since turned her life around. I am so grateful for the outcome, but I know life doesn’t always work out the way we desire. As my family has gone through healing and counseling, we all refer to that time in the hospital as our before and after–it was that significant to the life of our family.

What about you? Do you have an event that splits your life into a before and after? 

How has that event shaped who you are today? 

What advice would you give to others facing their before and after?