Who Misses The Way Life Was Before

One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

RECENTLY WE RELOCATED TO THE SMALL TOWN where my daughter and her family live. We had been planning this move for well over a year. We started packing several months before the moving truck arrived, and even though we had bought a much bigger house, we let many things go that we did not think we would need in our new location.

Leaving our home of seventeen years, where so many friends had come to visit and so many events had taken place, seemed difficult even though we were so looking forward to being closer to family, especially the grandkids.

The first few weeks in this new place were so hard on my heart. I missed my old life—my friends, my routine, just knowing the town and neighborhood I lived in and how to accomplish the daily tasks of coming and going because it was all familiar. One night as we were sitting in our new living room, I turned to my husband and said, “I want to go home!” I felt like a child at camp waiting for the bus to take her back to all that was familiar. I was homesick for my old life. Of course, going “home” to the house we had sold was not an option. This was the place the Lord had given us in this new season, but my heart needed time to process the change.

Momma, there are so many times when you might miss the way life was before now. You might miss what life was like before having a newborn even though you love your little one so much your heart could burst. You might miss what life was like before you had a difficult diagnosis or before a major traumatic event took place in your community. You might miss your children at a younger stage even though the current one is fun and you’ve looked forward to it for so long.

There are literally dozens of ways life can change in significant ways that cause us to long for what was. It is normal to grieve the loss of the way things were even if you’re in a season you prayed for. The important part is not to get so stuck in looking back that you stumble through the present. Keep going!

The apostle Paul told his fellow believers: “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” You are on your way to something really good even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. The Lord is making all things new, and the joy of every season is discovering how He will meet you even here . . . even now.

Tonight we pray for the momma who misses the way life was before. Lord, she looks for the good in things and can see how there is some good in this new season. Even so, she often finds herself missing the way the world was just a few months ago. Will it ever stop feeling so uncertain? Will everything ever settle down and feel less scary? She is overwhelmed and homesick for a life that seems gone. Help this momma tonight. Hold her close. Help her know that good days are ahead and that it will all be okay.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Jesus, comfort me and lead me as I trust You with this change in my life: