Turn the Page
“The old has gone, the new has come.” 2 Cor. 5:17
On Saturday, February 19th, 2022, my husband and I watched the implosion of the smokestacks at the James River Power Station. For nearly 27 years we have lived with those four towers within a half-mile of our home. We could see them from our deck; we drove by them nearly every day as we crossed Lake Springfield to get to and from our neighborhood to the southern sprawl of Springfield. Then, in a moment, the towers lay in a heap of rubble and ash. “The old has gone….”
Something new and wonderful will supposedly be built on the footprint of the old power plant, but no one knows what it is quite yet. “…the new has come” is, for now, a promise.
But the last page of the old chapter has been turned permanently. There is no going back.
And so it is for Christians. Our old nature lies in ashes. A new creation grows in its place as Jesus, who turned the page, is now building something new. What is He building? We don’t completely know. We do know it is by His design, for His purpose, and for eternal benefit.
Turn the page. The past has gone. The new is coming. But, unlike the new that will be built at the site of the old power plant (which will someday also be torn down), the new being built in us by the Lord will never be destroyed. The old chapter is over; our new chapter continues into eternity. We can trust that promise because of the One who has made that promise to us.
For over twenty years I have been dedicated to the same professional work. During 2020 I learned the graduate program to which I had been so passionate would be terminated. Terminated. Unlike the smokestacks, the implosion in my being wasn’t instantaneous, but occurred as a series of destructive dismantlings. The recruiting would end. The admitting would never happen again. There would be no more orientations and beginnings. Only endings. The coursework would end. The students would, one by one, reach the end of their journey. Now there are less than a dozen left. As this work is completed, and the supportive structures dismantled, what is happening to who I am? A chapter is ending in a book of my life with many chapters. Who am I to be in the next book of my life?
I have been searching myself for an answer. Perhaps you are in a similar place, an unfamiliar place where the terrain ahead is very different than the journey behind you. For me, the answer for the question of who I am to be is found in who I have been designed to be. For decades I have believed there are words in me that I am meant to write. I believe, deep in my very being, that I am a writer. What do you find when you search inside yourself? Who are you designed to be?
Today, with this first posting, I release the person I believe I am meant to be. My plan is to write at least one posting per week. I invite you to walk along with me on this adventure. Today, with this posting, I am turning the page and starting a new book of me. At 60 years old, this is a scary assertion for me to make. But, with the push of the “Publish” button I claim the strength and courage I need to go where I haven’t been before. (Joshua 1:9). I pray you, too, have the strength and courage you need to turn the page and join me in the adventure of becoming who you are meant to be.
