Are you ready for closure in some area of your life? I know I am. When I go through a difficult time in any area, I just wait for the end date. I've noticed that I fully expect such a day to come - as though it is like the last day of the semester for a class I didn't like in school. Once that day comes, I expect that I can have closure and be done with it. Hopefully I got a good grade, but even if not, it's over either way.
The frustrating part is that real life does not always work like this. I have had relationships wounded that I keep hoping will miraculously heal. I continue deal with issues of security and wanting to know if I'm on the right track. This gone on for years. I keep waiting for the celebration day of sadness to be over and constant rejoicing to begin. All the hurt of the past should be resolved. All those questions about work and school should be answered. If these were courses in college, I'd be done by now. I keep realizing how I expect that God's semesters of teaching me each of His ways will have end dates. Not exactly consciously, but I keep thinking that if I didn't like the struggle, it will end either way.
Maybe there is no last day of class. There is no final grade. We just continue to move on.
Recently, I've been typing up a test for the intro psychology class I teach. The chapter covers the difference between Sensation, what you actually see, and Perception, how your brain interprets it. Often, the interpretation part makes what you actually see fit to what you expect to see. (Sidenote: This is why visual illusions work, your brain is trying to make an image fit to how it should normally look, even though the picture doesn't actually follow normal rules.)
Looking at an example of the "Principle of Closure" (see picture), it's interesting that the perceptual experience of closure has to be inferred. The circles are not actually complete, but I see them and the triangle anyway (although it's technically not there). My mind is able to accept what looks incomplete and find a larger picture there - if I let it.
I believe sometimes closure in all those areas of life works like this too. We know there are still loose ends. Not everything comes together. Not every problem is solved. It doesn't always just go away. But by the grace of God, who gave our minds the ability to see beyond what is physically there, we can get more than the answers we seek. We can get a big picture glimpse of God Himself. And to that, I pray there is no closure.
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