A NEW THING

Cherylyn Radford, Bowridge Associate Pastor

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

This passage has been carved in my heart the last few months. It started with a devotional from Ron Gray at a staff meeting and it has kept resonating in my soul for months now.

Personally, I am entering a new stage. My youngest graduates from high school and thus ends our season of parent teacher interviews, report cards, and the endless paperwork that school seems to generate. Both boys now handle their own paperwork and all the details that post secondary involves. I know what they are registered for, but beyond that, I have no control.

At Bowridge we have had more than our share of something new. We felt God saying it was time to end our Saturday evening service and in its place we are feeding the hungry with a community dinner as well as providing opportunities for worship and discipleship.

Both Westhills and Bearspaw have also seen something new with the arrival of Stafford and the on-going visioning of what might be for Westhills as they plan what to do with their land.

For those of us who are allergic to change, this verse can be extremely scary. We might ask, “What was so wrong with the old?” It wasn’t broken, why are we fixing it? And even though I hate change, I have to answer, “because this new thing is good”. In the case of my kids, growth is normal, natural, and necessary. I wouldn't want them to stay babies forever. I would never get to see them reach their full potential.

In the case of Bowridge, I know this new thing is necessary because God was clearly directing the site leadership team in this direction. We have already seen attendance at our dinners triple from the first month to the second as there is clearly a need for food in the Bowness area.

So I cling to the promise in the second half of the verse. God will create a pathway in the wilderness, rivers in the dry wasteland. To clarify, I am not describing Bowness as a wasteland, but it is dry. There is so much need, both spiritual and physical, and by feeding the hungry and welcoming them into our building, we are creating pathways for the Holy Spirit to flow through us and nourish those who are dry.

So if change gives you a headache this week, I invite you to search out where God is creating new things in the midst of what can seem like a wasteland. It might be small, just a tiny sprout of green, but we can take comfort in the fact that although things around us change, God never does. James 1:17 in the New English Translation says that God has no Variation or slightest hint of change. His character and characteristics are always reliable and dependable. The things around us will change, but we have an anchor that never will.