Over and Done, The End, Right?

We wait for the infamous lady to sing,
Then we call it done and done again.
It makes me question this morning,
What is her song, and why must she sing?

A headline catches my morning.
Someone says it’s not over yet.
And I bring the thought to the task
When is over truly over?

Challenges go on and on forever.
Or at least it seems from in a hurricane’s eye.
Wink! Blink! Wait! It’s not over.
Just the quiet before storming again.

We’ve proven that once frighted,
We are easily frightened again and again.
Our tough skin is surprisingly thin
And it wears thinner with each scare.

Will peace ever return, or the quiet recreate
The sense of, “Whew! Made it through again!”
Now, let’s rest and take our ease
The worst is finally behind us.

Or is it? I think what we’ve experienced
These last 30 months of the pandemic scare
It is just the starting position where we fear
And wonder if we’ll ever see it over?

“We’re in this together.” The false rallying cry.
Not when some sacrifice more than others,
To try and control the uncontrollable.
When can we finally say, “It’s done.” And believe it.

This Morning

This morning my thoughts have jumbled together so many threads of low dangling fruit. You know, those things we easily decry and say, “No! I’m not going to think about that again!” But we do. We call it done, but it’s not. As if casting a spell, we mantra our way through and say, “Never again!” But it does. We do. It’s not really over. True?

Where I thought I had defeated the “awake too early” again syndrome.
It’s not over or done until it is.
Reality says it’s not today.
So I must live with it and wait for another day.

Someone shared recently, “I’ll never do that again!” But they do. Are they liars? Or do they have no control? Wait long enough, and nearly every negative “No!” will be replaced with an agonizing cry of “Oh No! I’ve done it again!”

It’s not over. Until it is, that’s when we think we’ve won, but we haven’t. There is life to be lived and choices to face even once it’s done.

The finish line means one thing, but the aftermath of victories and losses never ends. There’s always work to do after the event. Clean up. Pack it away. Prepare for another day.

Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He put a period on a season of living. Death had won, right? Just because one breath has ceased, there is still more to the future than going quietly to eternal rest. Jesus set the stage and faced the future with an almost “fresh start” and “new deal.” From death to a new life, he shows us it is not over until someday it will. Finally. Over.

Don’t count me out… I have been built and strengthened by life’s battles.
When you think I’m tired; I’m just getting started.
When you think I’m dead; that’s when I’m most alive.
~Steve Maraboli

It’s over only when you decide you’ve had enough and do nothing about the moment. Lay down. Quit. Stop.

I can say this about me. “It t’ain’t over yet!”