I have to confess I have found that with unfamiliar territory I become somewhat anxious. If things are not familiar to me, they do not feel safe. I love my little town I grew up in, it has always been home, always felt safe. I love the property I live at, it’s where I was raised, it’s where I feel comfortable, loved and provided for.. I love the little church sign in town that has always had special catchy phrases on it that feed my soul quickly and simply. Straight to the heart and helpful, the church with its sign has been there since I was a kid. Today it read “New Season, Same Faithful God.” How true this statement is and how quickly I forget when things become unfamiliar!!
I have this issue with losing faith in unfamiliar situations that just traveling in a different direction of Texas yesterday to pick up a baby goat gave me anxiety so much that I prayed for peace. During my Bible reading I was reminded of Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
That may sound silly to some, but the sign reminded me that it’s not just being in an unfamiliar physical area, but just the season of life I have found myself in. My hair is getting more gray, my babies have grown and are leaving the house. My husband and I laugh about the new aches and pains in our bones as we have grown older together. Such a blessing but it’s weird and a bit sad to be in a place you’ve never been before because you know the time is getting shorter and everything is changing. I’m not great with change, never have been. I don’t like all the upgrades and apps and the fact that we don’t use cash like we used to…now there is Apple Pay and who knows what will be next? It’s all going so quickly and I need Jesus to cope with it.
I was taught at a young age by my very wise grandmother that “Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you”. I stood on that scripture firmly throughout the time walking with God most of my life. It helped me in middle school when I had bullies, it helped me as a young adult with a sick baby in the hospital, again later in life raising two children with autism. Jesus was always there holding my hand. It was also very much a real and present truth when I had my own mental health battles. Looking back, I can see where He never failed me. While it may be silly to some that I would have anxiety about driving down the road an hour in a different direction for a baby goat when I have driven to California and back for goats just fine, it is even sillier to me but nonetheless less true. No matter what season of life I have been in, God has always been faithful…with the big, with the small and with the silly.
I have been in the desert in Nevada with absolutely nothing around me and there is this sense of panic you feel. You literally feel lost and alone. It is beautiful but there is nothing for miles and miles all around. I felt so uncomfortable in this place that I sang “Amazing Grace” just to have peace. God’s presence comforted me in the midst of unfamiliarity and I remembered that of course God was with the Israelites in the desert. My point is, It doesn’t matter where we are in life, or how we feel, God will never leave us nor forsake us. Like Joshua, He promises to be with us wherever we go, physically and through the changing seasons of this life.
The next time I look in the mirror and see more gray, another wrinkle, or feel a new ache in my bones, I’m going to remember and be thankful for that little church sign. It may be a new season but I have the same faithful God to walk through it with me!
Isaiah 46:3-4 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
Picture is of the new addition. Ragels Ziegenhoff Gouda Girl “Gigi”. Thank you to S&B Farms Nubian Goats for this precious girl. She will be spoiled!