We love the familiar: the broken in shoes, our favorite chair, the worn-out sweatshirt we continue to wear. We follow routine paths in our driving and our actions. We eat our favorite foods and enjoy our favorite television programs. There is simply something comforting about the things and places we know well that make us feel secure amid the changes around us.
At the same time, there is something exciting about the new: a new outfit, a different vacation destination, the latest technology. We take the scenic route to discover new sights and places. We visit new restaurants to follow-up on the recommendations of friends. We look forward to the differences that make life interesting and enjoyable; that create variety amid the routine tasks of daily life.
Our lives are lived in the balance between the familiar and the fresh, the common and the creative, the known and new. We hold on to the things of meaning from the past, while joyfully embracing the possibilities of our future. We celebrate where we have been and anticipate where we are going.
Jesus said, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52) Indeed, even in our faith journey, there is a place for what God has done and what God is about to do. “See, I am doing a new thing!”, God says, “Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)
Recently, our church went through an exciting change. Although very little of that change has been felt at the moment, a part of our identity and ministry is new. The former Western New York Annual Conference concluded its business as we said goodbye to a Annual Conference that we’ve known for over a century. At the same time, the Upper New York Annual Conference was created and is now giving birth to our mission and vision for the future.
As I attended these two historic Annual Conference sessions, I found that I did so with mixed emotions. I confess that I found it challenging to let go of the familiar things I have known since I began attending Annual Conference nearly 25 years ago. During that time I’ve become accustomed to knowing the people and procedures. In short, I was comfortable.
At the same time, it was exciting to begin to envision the new thing that God is doing in our midst. The opportunity for new friendships, new opportunities for ministry, and the possibility of breaking free of the trappings of former routines is exhilarating. What might tomorrow hold in this new vision God is revealing.
So it is with the Annual Conference, our church and our lives. Changes come that call us forward into the new thing God is doing, while carrying the treasures of our past. We must not cling to what has been, but, trusting in God, step faithfully into the destiny that awaits us. With wisdom we share our treasures old and new, we embrace the new thing God is doing in our generation, and we let our hearts joyfully, “sing a new song unto the Lord.”
As we continue to discover God’s plan for us in this season, we unite our hearts with him, and with one another and share the journey to our future together.
