Change

"They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway." Ezekiel 46:9b

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on this blog. There have been several reasons for this: (1) there have been too many changes in my life over the summer to keep up with, (2) I haven't been home or on the computer nearly as much as I used to be, and (3) during the rare times that I was home and on the computer my brain was too tired to compose even a basic sentence.

Tonight is one of those rare evenings where I find myself both home, with brain power, and with a verse to share. One of the last times I posted I mentioned not knowing whether or not I'd be coming back this fall to the classroom I worked in last year. I spent the summer waiting...and waiting...and waiting. Of course I did other things besides wait - I worked as a tutor for Huntington Learning Center, I continued to babysit Jeremy, I helped plan a neighborhood carnival for my church, and I hung out with friends and watched movies. Yet I still had no answers as to what the fall would bring.

I'm going to make a very LONG and dramatic story short and just say that I found out on Friday, Sept. 4th that I'd be working for the Upper Nyack School district in a k-2nd grade self-contained autistic classroom....starting tomorrow (Sept. 7th). There is nothing quite like the feeling of waiting until the very last minute, let me tell you.

With the advent of a new school year starting and the approach of fall (I'm already beginning to phase sweaters into my wardrobe :( ), not to mention other changes going on in my life, I am feeling very reflective. That's probably why the verse in Ezekiel struck me so. Generally speaking the book of Ezekiel doesn't do much for me...especially when reading all about the specific measurements of the temple. I'm not very good with visualizing measurements, so reading about temple measurements ranks right up there with reading long lists of geneologies. However, when I read the verse about the people having to enter the temple on one side and going out the other side and being instructed about NOT going back the way they came, it made me think about my life.

I've had various seasons of my life...there have been good times for sure, but there have also been the ugly times. In each stage though, God required me and helped me to move forwards, not backwards. Of course there were times when I seemed to be going backwards, but in reality it was just a part of the healing process I was going through at the time. When I think about the person I was in college and who I am now I actually see a huge difference in how I viewed myself, God, and life in general. I know that I'm still on my journey and that I'm still working on certain aspects of my character, but no matter what other changes and challenges life throws at me, I am determined not to go back the way I came.