The Old is Not the Now

The big move happened … across state lines, across the country, across the ocean.

Distance was not the issue.

Perhaps the move didn’t involve distance at all. Maybe it was a new context in the same town, the same company, or the same organization. But, new is reality.

At first it was exciting; adrenalin flowed as you learned your way around the new. The new place; new people, new grocery stores, new doctors, new dentists—new, new, new.

Slowly (you didn’t see it coming) the creeping intrusion of homesickness; the desire for the familiar. The new was becoming the normal … but there is a bit of time to think, to remember, to miss.

Then you did it—you returned. You went back. You visited the place you left. You anticipated it. You planned for it. You looked forward to it. You couldn’t wait. You made the trip. Then the ah-ha moment. You were there; and it wasn’t home.

Returning is good.

First, it is a time to enjoy, to re-connect, to relax in the old well-traveled landscape. It feels right.

But the right feeling doesn’t last. The old is not the now.

The new is now the normal, the place of belonging. This realization surprised and the surprise was good.

Second, in the big move, something else happened—you changed; your heart swelled; faith grew; wisdom spoke; you listened. Your security is not in the old … and it is not in the new either. Your security is in The One who never changes, never moves.

The returning offered more than expected—it instructed, it encouraged, it reminded. Security and joy are anchored in a person who lives beyond change, beyond the old and the new. 

Change is inevitable; anchored security is enviable. It fosters smiles, contentment, the ability to enjoy, and much more.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”                             

Hebrews 13:8