It's Always the Right Time To Do Something for the First Time

A friend of mine ran for a local political position for the first time this spring. She lost by a slim margin, but she counted the experience a win.

A coworker joined a new leadership team that required an all-day retreat last month, pressing her outside of her comfort zone. She reluctantly cleared her calendar to attend, and she returned to the office excited about new possibilities.

A family friend tried his first mussel this week and declared it "not bad," a remarkable discovery after a lifelong distaste of all-things shellfish.

And as I prep for a canoe journey through the Boundary Waters of northeastern Minnesota into Canada next month, the "firsts" are abounding: first canoe excursion longer than an hour or two, first lengthy overnight trip as the sole female, first time packing 10 days' worth into waterproof dry sacks in case everything goes overboard ...

For many of us, our comfort zones are precious: earned spaces where we prefer to remain unless life forces us onto a new path where we boisterously critique the undergrowth, complain about the weather, and long for the familiar. But is that the life God calls us to?

Hear the Lord's voice in the Old Testament: 

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.(Isaiah 43:19)

And here is Jesus' voice in the New Testament:

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”(Revelation 21:5)

The world is wide and the opportunities are innumerable, but how often do we find ourselves trapped in the comforting tedium of what we see before us? Where and how do you allow space for stepping outside of your comfort zone, actively seeking the "new thing" that the Lord promises? What new thing will you try this week?

Peace on your week,

Jennie