As if like a secret dream, my summer break came into existence and faded away in the blink of an eye, disappearing like a vapour in the morning warmth. It was only a few days before the new semester embroiled me in the next rat race, and my ambitions for the new school term only added on to the pressure to excel. Yet before I knew it, the first week of school had already been over, and I was buried in my endless to-dos; the new modules along with the new commitments I took up turned my “holiday” lifestyle around - I now operated with a rigour that I never had during the summer. Along with meeting new people and easing into their dynamics, I felt like I had moulted into a completely new person (not for better or worse) - the Celeste of 2023.
I look back to the Bible and see how, parallel to my situation, many forefathers have also experienced upheavals in their life - mostly more drastic than mine - yet there is one constant in their life - God. Like Abraham who uprooted his family across different lands, or David who slipped between the realms of being “hunted” or remaining “safe”, they never let the change around them dictate who their number one was - God. While small hiccups did arise occasionally, ultimately, they knew who to set their sights on - the God of everything.
Their steadfast focus on God despite the whirlwind of inconsistency around them is akin to sitting in a bullet train. As the world whizzes past in the window, the traveller, along with his possessions, remain unmoved in the stillness of the carriage. The traveller can either choose to set his sights on the ever-changing landscape outside, and attempt to chase them to no avail (because then he would fall off the train), or, he can trust in the bullet train to take him to where he needs to be.
And where do we want to be, or go? I believe the unanimous answer from Christians would be “Heaven”!
But what about the world outside the window? “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).
Not that it is wrong to grow with seasonal changes in our life, but more importantly, they should not be a pull factor away from us keeping with our walk with God. Furthermore, as much as life can be unpredictable and exciting, as is my new semester, entertaining the new changes should not take precedence over serving the one true God. “Because whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).
Reflecting on my school year and the changes it brought to me, I am determined to remember the one constant in my life - God. Indeed, exciting things are happening, but may they never take me away from the One who blessed me with them - God.
New things are indeed happening, but not everything has to change, especially the God we worship.