It’s Not the Same
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?... Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
While walking down Main Street in Wellsboro, PA (my hometown) we decided to enter a store that was most unique and had vintage-flavored character. I can’t remember what was once there, but I know for certain that it wasn’t the current occupancy.
This quaint little town where I grew up now seems to be the center for specialty shops and high-end taste buds. Things have certainly changed…or is it me that has changed? I so enjoy coming back to the area and experiencing this ambiance; however, I can’t help but wonder what happened to the town of my youth.
So, I am told, it has become a tourist town with the Rail Trail, PA Grand Canyon, Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center, and Dickens of a Christmas. Times have changed and so have the people. The younger have taken leadership in the community and it seems to be thriving.
Part of me wants it to be like it was when I was growing up, but I know that time does not stand still for anyone or anything. I loved my hometown—and still do but it’s harder for me to realize transformation. It was/is so beautiful with Christmas trees decorated in the center boulevard with gas lights between each tree. To me, it was like God picked up this town from New England somewhere and just plunked it down here.
Growing as a Christian gave me cause to stop and think. Today, I am very different, as a Christian, than when I gave my heart to Jesus in 4th grade. Once I made that decision, I could no longer go back to my old actions or thoughts and still have fun. Of course, sin was fun – otherwise we would never do it. However, once that decision had been made, I found that a strange phenomenon happens. You can’t possibly enjoy your old life as much as you once did. That is a good thing.
We grow up and we can’t go back. Just like my hometown, it has changed and grown and so have I. Longing for something to be the same way it used to be is a waste of time, energy and emotions. We must come to grips with the fact that rejoicing in this day is far better than wallowing in desire to recapture used to be.
Father God, thank You for change even though I often fight against it. You know where all this is going, and I do not. Help me to trust You more. AMEN.