Letting go of the familiar.
Someone once said, "Courage is the power to let go of the familiar."
What is familiar to you?
Familiar means: Often encountered or seen; having fair knowledge; acquainted; of established friendship; intimate; domesticated; tame. Familiar is wonderful in many ways. I think about the familiar smell of my wife’s skin or the familiar feeling I get in my heart when I hold her hand or kiss her. The familiarity of my favorite song or Christmas carol. I love the familiar sound of my mother’s voice on the phone even though she is 3,000 miles away. There’s nothing like being with friends who are familiar.
Yet sometimes in order to go where God or my dreams may want to take me requires letting go of all that is familiar. Nine years ago I left all that was familiar to me to follow God and a dream in my heart. I left the security of a very successful annual six-figure television advertising career, my family and friends, my church, and a city I that called home to venture across the United States where for the first seven years here I was always the new guy and most folks were strangers. Some family members were very concerned for me. Was I out of my mind to leave everything I knew and could depend on for the hope that God would be faithful?
We like familiarity don’t we? People, places and things that we have knowledge of or have encountered or seen bring us some form of comfort, safety, security and an element of control. I think of how many folks stay stuck in relationships, jobs, geographically etc. simply because they are familiar with their surroundings. For some it means giving up control of their life and to trust God. Sometimes the unfamiliar is just so cold, aloof, unfriendly, and leaves that empty homesick feeling in the pit of our stomach.
When I am afraid I often want to return to what is familiar. I want to run the opposite direction and cling to what I know. I imagine this is a normal response for some folks. Yet the voice in my soul says, "Trust me." So I hold on and endure to the end and remain unattached to the familiar, trusting that God will not let me go and will complete what God has started.
French writer Andre Gide said, "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." I can sit anchored in the boat of my dreams with the rudder set perfect and remain alee, comfortable with the surroundings of the marina. Or I can raise my sail and allow the Ruah to blow and take me where I may not being willing to go on my own. All that is required of me is to trust God and let go of the familiar.
"Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified or discouraged for GOd will be with you wherever you go." The Book of Joshua If God is with me, I am never a stranger nor alone.
12 Comments:
That was a great post. I know just how you feel. I had to leave that familiar job, the familiar place, and everything else and just trust in God that it would be for the greater good. Yet, the main problem with a lot of people isn't just the people or places being familiar, but they don't allow their lives or their faith to evolve because they become attatched to the familiar feeling of the Christianity they've already learned.
Roman,
Thanks for your thoughts. How true! We get attached to a "familiar" God and we never allow oursleves to trust a God of a new understanding or allow God to become bigger than we realize.
Thanks for your great comments.
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."
One of my all time fave qoutes!
Rick, once again you've hit the nail on the head.
and I like Roman's take on Xian's becoming stuck in the rut of familiarity
When Jesus walked among us he challenged the status quo all the time
Ah, Rick, you've caught me in the act, again...
It's interesting, because my Mother's Day musings reminded me that my late mom would never have approved of me staying in a job or a city or a state of depression out of fear or doubt. She would have encouraged anyone to go for the most outrageous, the most enjoyable possibilities.
The real tragedy, for me, is that choices I've made in my past have really seemed to hem-in what God can do. I used to question whether, having left everything I thought I knew, if God was being faithful when my plans seemed to fall apart a year ago. Now I'm just wondering if maybe I missed the plan that God had for me entirely, and the resulting mess is all about my ego and my plans and dreams...it's not a comfortable consideration, as you might imagine.
Thanks again for the spiritual thumb-tack you so tactfully left on my chair...once again, your words pricked me exactly where my defenses were thinnest. And thanks, too, for reminding me that where God is calling me to be is rarely comfortable...
As an occasional visitor to this sight, let me say that I love this. I love the thought and the concept, it is just the reality that I have trouble getting my head around. I want to step out in faith, but boy is it hard to give up what is familiar and comfortable. Thanks for the challenge.
challenging words Rick. love the quote from Gide, too.
powerful and extremely timely piece for me to read.
keep up the great posts!
jeff
We all only know in part. I thank God for people who add so much to my life by sharing their insights gained through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. I am very "familiar" with my Lord and yet every new day He has something with which to surprise me. Whether He is showing me more about Himself, about others or about myself, life with Him is always an adventure. Bless you for sharing your thoughts.
Hmm. This seems to be timely for several of us here. You know that I'll have to move on from my job soon and let go of the familiar.
What awaits?
Who knows?
Your blog has quickly become one of my favorites! This post reminded me of a poem called George Gray by Edgar Lee Masters which I just included on my own site. If you get a chance, take a look :)
I worked in hosptitality for more than 20 years, thriving on the fast pace and pressure. I changed jobs every couple of years, constantly taking on new (and bigger) challenges. One day I woke up and realized that for the last two decades I had worked every holiday, every birthday, every anniversary. I began to long for familiarity, for stability, for strong and healthy relationships that had depth.
I've learned - the hard way - that it's those relationships that matter most, so much more than anything else, and that they require time, effort and a certain 'familiarity' in order to last. I'm not disagreeing with you, by any means - it's another excellent post. It's just that in my journey familiarity is the place God wanted to take me to, not from... and it has required huge amounts of trust in Him.
Thanks to those of you you have responded and added to my post. I apprecitae each of you taking the time to comment. Your comments are just an extension of what is going within me, so I thank each of you for your contribution.
Rhyme w/Kerouac, you bring an interesting spin to my post. I agree with you that family and friends are a gift and the familiarity of those relationships is a gift from God as well. I allude to this in my post. From that perspective I appreciate where you are coming from. Thanks for introducing another perspective to my post.
God's peace,
Rick
Here a lesson learned from the school of bi-plane's wing-walking: "Never let go until you grab a hold of something else!"
Sometimes, let go of what's familiarity didn't mean courage, but suicidal. Just ask any ex-dot-comers.
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