I have a habit that when a conversation goes full circle and we start talking about the same thing again, the meeting is over. It’s fruitless to rehash the same topics unless there is something new to add that will take us into a different direction. That’s the way I felt in the kitchen. My experience had gone full circle and was beginning to repeat itself. I start looking for new information, a new experience, or a fresh outlook on life so that the circle doesn’t keep repeating itself.
I used to call that my three year anxiety. Growing up in a military family we moved on average every three years. After Rebecca and I were married the pattern persisted. We lived in Columbia S.C. for about three years, Cedar Rapids, IA for three years, Dallas, TX for about three years and then we hit Manitowoc, WI. When our third year rolled around I became anxious. It was time for us to leave. But when we didn’t, our tenure there lasted 17 years. But then it began again. Houston, TX for three years, Aledo, IL for three years. Back to Houston, TX for about three years. A short interlude of unemployment and now in Pandora/Bluffton, OH. We have made it past our three year mark, and that bodes well for longevity. Yet, this even feels like part of the larger cycle. It reminded me of Ecclesiastes that says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (3:1)”, and “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9)”
Our culture encourages the “I need it new, want it now” attitude about life. New and shinny. Fresh and edgy. Even in the church we look for what is the next new thing, but when it comes down to it, it’s a rehashing of something already past. We’ve been this way before, but the extreme of complacency’s isn’t any better. We lose hope and motivation. Our outlook is soured and the future colored.
Given the right circumstances “been that way before” can be enjoyable. Looking at old photos of the family, walking past the house you grew up in and revisiting the place he proposed are great places to visit. But they are terrible places to get stuck. I am a strong proponent of two verses in the Scripture.
Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Philippians 3:13 (ESV) Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
The first verse grounds us in God’s will and plan. The second keeps us looking forward. The balance is essential. So, when you see life coming full circle embrace the lessons you have learned. Then, when the reminiscing is over, break free and go on to another adventure. I’m just saying…
From the Bunker Day 57
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