The foreign becomes familiar

Being in a new place is a shock to your system. Everything is foreign, and everything around you seems to say, "you don't belong here."

If you choose courage, you walk forward anyway. You stay glued to your GPS to make sure you make the correct turns. You notice things that remind you of home or other places you've been. You hear the new sounds and see the new faces. Then little by little, patterns appear and routes form until you eventually expect to see the people and places you noticed before. You don't need that GPS as much; it doesn't take quite as much courage to take those steps. Before you know it, what was foreign is now familiar.

It's this way in new physical experiences, as well as social, emotional, and spiritual. In any of these given categories we're stretched beyond our current state of knowing, where everything seems new. Then, little by little, one courageous step forward at a time -- we grow into familiarity. 

I love the hymn, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need," especially for the last line: 

No more a stranger

Nor a guest,

But like a child at home.

This reminds me that we're never meant to stay in that unknown, and we've been given the best guide -- Jesus Christ -- to help us navigate. With His help, we're not alone -- even (and especially) in the times when we're facing the foreign. He already knows our needs. We can try to do it all on our own, but He is already equipped and ready to meet them. Every need is already paid for. He wants us to turn to Him so He can help. His atoning sacrifice enables us to face those unknowns and lean on Him as a true companion. 

So if you're up against a new change, or if you're facing the unknown, just know that soon -- even though it's not the case today -- this new path will feel familiar, and eventually like home. All we need is to take that courageous one step at a time, and we don't have to do it alone. The foreign is in the process of becoming familiar.