The Recoup Tour ’09 is now officially two weeks old. For those of you keeping a score card, my mom’s “ER day” was September 28th (see my post “In the General Hospital”). Thank you for all the prayers and kind words so many of you sent in. For the past week mom has been recouping at my house (last week was my sister’s house). She’s been getting stronger day by day, and though she’s been here for the express purpose of healing, I’ve enjoyed her being here. During this time, we’ve had great talks, out of which came her decision to make the move into a more technical savvy world.
Sometime ago mom began Twitter, and has now added Facebook to her repertoire (yep, I needed another Farm Town neighbor). She’s learning about website forums and how to move easily through YouTube. She has realized that those are some of the ways that her children communicate and play, and she wants to participate in that with us. Go mom.
As a “retired” person, she could sit back on her laurels and play the “been there, done that” card. (I say “retired” parenthetically because she continues to work, travel, teach, volunteer, etc.) There are plenty of us out here in the world that, even though we aren’t of retirement age, we play that card, resigning ourselves to become stuck in the mud. But mom sets that precedent of looking for new and exciting things to do, such as signing up for new ministries at our church and our upcoming trip to Australia together next year. But doing new things means… change.
Change is hard. It’s hard for young and old alike. The alternative is to get set in your ways and stay there. It is always tempting to find comfort in whatever way you’ve always done things, and then utter the pestilent recitation, “We’ve never done it THAT way before.” However, that so called “comfort” is a deceptive comfort. Monotony and apathy follow closely behind, wanting to settle into that “comfort” mindset. I’m not saying that all the traditional things we do are wrong. Nay, nay. I’m suggesting that even those comforting traditions can become a heavy load to carry.
Christ came into the world, bringing a new message of love and hope. He was a Jew who held to the beliefs of his forefathers, yet he offered something fresh. Jesus spoke about a new teaching, a new covenant, and a new life. This new message was not inconsistent with the workings of God, as found in the Christian Old Testament, but was an extension of the love that God gave mankind in the first place.
We must also remember that just because something is new, doesn’t mean it is necessarily better. Just because something is attached to the latest fad, doesn’t mean that it has value or benefits us in the long run. The challenge here is to simply listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Really listen. Maybe it’s time to hold fast to what you have. Maybe it’s time to release your grip on the past and move forward. That goes for what happens in your church, and yes, even in your job, your schedule, your bank account, and your free time (though we claim we never find any).
How open to change are you?
Sometime ago mom began Twitter, and has now added Facebook to her repertoire (yep, I needed another Farm Town neighbor). She’s learning about website forums and how to move easily through YouTube. She has realized that those are some of the ways that her children communicate and play, and she wants to participate in that with us. Go mom.
As a “retired” person, she could sit back on her laurels and play the “been there, done that” card. (I say “retired” parenthetically because she continues to work, travel, teach, volunteer, etc.) There are plenty of us out here in the world that, even though we aren’t of retirement age, we play that card, resigning ourselves to become stuck in the mud. But mom sets that precedent of looking for new and exciting things to do, such as signing up for new ministries at our church and our upcoming trip to Australia together next year. But doing new things means… change.
Change is hard. It’s hard for young and old alike. The alternative is to get set in your ways and stay there. It is always tempting to find comfort in whatever way you’ve always done things, and then utter the pestilent recitation, “We’ve never done it THAT way before.” However, that so called “comfort” is a deceptive comfort. Monotony and apathy follow closely behind, wanting to settle into that “comfort” mindset. I’m not saying that all the traditional things we do are wrong. Nay, nay. I’m suggesting that even those comforting traditions can become a heavy load to carry.
Christ came into the world, bringing a new message of love and hope. He was a Jew who held to the beliefs of his forefathers, yet he offered something fresh. Jesus spoke about a new teaching, a new covenant, and a new life. This new message was not inconsistent with the workings of God, as found in the Christian Old Testament, but was an extension of the love that God gave mankind in the first place.
We must also remember that just because something is new, doesn’t mean it is necessarily better. Just because something is attached to the latest fad, doesn’t mean that it has value or benefits us in the long run. The challenge here is to simply listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Really listen. Maybe it’s time to hold fast to what you have. Maybe it’s time to release your grip on the past and move forward. That goes for what happens in your church, and yes, even in your job, your schedule, your bank account, and your free time (though we claim we never find any).
How open to change are you?
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