A Young Boy Sitting at His Desk at School
The New Classroom (by Paul Tuck)
I remember something rather embarrassing that happened to me when I was a little boy.
It was the first day of school in September, and I was moving up from Grade 4 to Grade 5. I arrived at school, walked into my classroom, found my desk, put all my supplies away in the drawer, and settled in, ready for another school year.
But then I noticed something strange.
Everyone was staring at me. I looked around the room, and suddenly it dawned on me.
These weren’t my classmates!
Then I looked toward the front of the room and recognized the teacher. It was my Grade 4 teacher!
I had walked right back into last year’s classroom!
I can still remember how embarrassed I felt as I hurriedly gathered up my things and made my exit, with all the other kids watching and snickering.
I was supposed to be starting a new chapter in my life, but out of habit, I’d gone right back to where I’d been before.
Looking back, I think that’s sometimes how change feels.
We know we’re supposed to move forward, but there’s something comforting about what’s familiar. Even when a new chapter has begun, part of us wants to go back to the old classroom.
Today, our Dismas Fellowship is meeting in a new location after twenty years of gathering at First Pilgrim downtown. I sure hope none of you do what I did and show up at our old location out of habit!
Seriously, there’s something about familiar places that makes us feel comfortable and secure. Change isn’t always easy, even when it’s a good change. Sometimes, though, growth means getting up from the old desk, leaving the familiar classroom behind, and discovering what awaits us in the next one.
And perhaps that’s the wonderful thing about a new beginning. We don’t have to forget where we’ve been in order to move forward.
QUESTION: Do you typically like change? And, what helps you to adapt to changes in your life?