A New Thing

by Apr 17, 2020Easy and Light

A New Thing

 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

If you would have told me a month ago that the part of day I would get most excited for was a walk outside, I would have thought you were joking. Yet, here we are, on Day They-All-Blur-Together of the mandatory stay-home order, and I find myself counting the minutes until it’s time to get the kids into their sneakers (or flip flops or boots – we never know what a Maryland spring will deliver day to day) and head out.

Our neighborhood backs up a golf course that closed for business years ago. Now it’s just 187 acres of rolling hills, sparkling ponds, charming footbridges that cross bubbling creeks, and 4.5 miles of a perfectly maintained cart trail, which now sees fewer golf carts and more bikers, joggers, and leisurely walkers like us.

When we first started regularly walking the trail, back when this all started in mid-March, the trees were bare. The earth was splotched brown with patches of dead grass and mud. The only sounds as we walked were the distant running of the stream and the snapping of twigs and branches under our feet.

Each day as we walked, the ground became a little more green. The trees began to sprout tiny buds on their branches. It became a game for the kids and I to note the newest signs of life on the course each day. A squirrel darting across our path. The song of birds exercising their vocal cords after a long winter. The creek warm enough to wade in barefoot. And then one day, spring SPRUNG. We turned our heads slowly from side to side for the entire walk, marveling at every tree and plant suddenly exploded into lush greens and vibrant floras.

 

Lord, let us have courage to embrace the new life You are building for us. Help us to appreciate the beauty in change and not be resistant to the plans You have for our futures. Help us to find peace in the new normal and to carry it with us long after these circumstances have ended.

 

This is the most beautiful spring I can remember, but I know that a month ago, if things had been different, I would have entirely missed this spring coming to life in perfect detail. So many of us are getting through this time by focusing on the day when things go back to how they were, but what if God has a different plan? What if He’s using this time to do a new thing? To create a new normal? One where appreciating His beauty and blessings is the thing we wake up most excited to do every day?

In our haste to get back to normal, let’s not forget to appreciate this new thing God is doing. He may have a new normal in store for us – one that’s even better than what we leave behind.

Our Faithful Partner

Our Faithful PartnerThus says the LORD: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent...

Waiting on Peace

Waiting on PeaceI waited patiently for the Lord;    he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1 (NIV)A while back I made a horrible mistake and I ended up causing some dear friends an incredible amount of pain. I took responsibility for my actions and apologized...

Hearing for the Holidays

Hearing for the HolidaysA fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. Proverbs 18:2 (NIV)As much as I would love for my family holidays to reflect the lyrics of the Christmas music we hear at this time of year, for most of us, having a...