A Fresh Start

It is a wonderful thing to have a new beginning or a fresh start. The problem is, we are always looking for it externally rather than internally.

Morning time is my favorite time of the day. I feel refreshed and well rested. My outlook doesn’t seem hazy in the least. By evening, I am starting to feel the weight of the day and the list of things that didn’t get done I quickly leave in the hands of Scarlet O’hara and say, “I will think about that tomorrow.”

All of us have areas in our lives that we desperately want a fresh start in, but we are not willing to leave familiar; it’s comfortable. Or if we do leave, we take everything that was familiar with us. For example, I wore too many layers in a race one time. Halfway through the race, I was trying to figure out a way to keep my pace but shed some of these unwanted clothes. It cost me in time and almost cost me in placement, as well. Before the race started, I was warm in my pull-over and unwilling to part with it for a time while my adrenaline began to create the heat. The consequence: I became unprepared for the sweat that would creep up.

God works the same way in our lives. When he brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, he wasn’t nearly as concerned with their comforts as they were. He had great blessings awaiting them if they could get past familiar long enough to see the finish line that lay across the lessons of the unknown. God’s focus was not getting them out of Egypt as much as it was getting Egypt out of them. Getting them out just left them wandering. Getting them into the promised land allowed them to put down roots.

In preparation for my upcoming race, I had to be very creative. I was home with a four-year-old all day, which did not leave much time for running. So, I decided I would time myself and run the distance of our rather long driveway over and over again, while Eva played. Between her and two large playmates (the dogs), who love to find mischief, you can imagine the interruptions. In resistance, I had made up my mind, no matter what, I would not stop running, even if it meant jogging in place. Unbeknownst to me, what I saw as interruptions became my saving grace.

When the race began and I was keeping my pace, I decided to remove my pull-over. In the process, I dropped my headphones, my pack, and my phone. In seconds, without stopping, I scurried to retrieve it all off the ground and handed it to a bystander; my competition racing past me. All the ground I had gained, I lost in moments. My heart sank as I realized what I had done. I was my own worst enemy, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. All I could do now was fight my way back. Step for step, I passed my competition one more time. Unintentionally, I had planned for the unknown. Where I thought Eva was slowing me down in practice, really, she was teaching me how to fly. Trying to hold on to familiar nearly cost me my victory.

We all have a little Egypt in us. Although, most things we face in life seem much larger than not dressing properly for a race, “It usually is not the mountain we are climbing that is the problem; it’s the pebble in our shoe.” Jim Stockdale

It is never God’s plan just to get us out. He is always trying to get us to something. We just have to be willing to let go of familiar and run towards the pressure of something new. We must love the end result more than the pain of getting there. If we don’t, we will never leave.

“Getting us out of Egypt is geography, getting Egypt out of me is theology.” Rick Price

A family friend of ours wrote a song, years ago, about this very thing. I have always liked it…

He took me out of Egypt, now take Egypt out of me

He delivered me from Pharaoh, now set me free from me

Let my heart become a promise land where the desert used to be

Lord, you took me out of Egypt, now take Egypt out of me

          David Baroni

Welcome Home

“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by the strength of the of the Lord, He brought you out of this place.” Exodus 13:3

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