The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3)

I’ve included this picture – taken on my morning walk with Scout – for my Florida readers. It’s a hill, by the way. We don’t have mountains in this part of North Carolina, but we do have the rolling undulations known as “Piedmont.”

This particular hill comes up out of our neighborhood and joins with Main Street. The road winds; it goes up, it goes down, it goes up again. It’s like nothing we ever saw in the Sunshine State.

Other than the fact that I’m excited that this place isn’t flat as a pancake, the picture shows how completely different Wake Forest is from what we’re used to. I believe that’s a very good thing.

• It’s a good thing that our home (a two-story colonial) isn’t even vaguely comparable to our Florida house (a sprawling ranch).
• It’s great that Wake Forest is a bona fide small town, you can’t compare that to suburbia.
• It’s cool that we’re going to experience four actual seasons here, as opposed to the two (or one and a half) that characterize west-central Florida.
• And it’s even better that Wake Forest Presbyterian Church doesn’t even remotely resemble First Presbyterian Church of Brandon.

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME! Why? Because comparisons are a waste of time and they tend to get in the way of what needs to be done right where we are, and in the situation we’re in. Yet I hear them all the time: “My church is better than that other church.” “Things aren’t the way they were when I was young.” “Back in my old town they did things this way.” “When so-and-so was president… pastor… governor… quarterback… cook… teacher… youth leader… (fill in your comparison here ______), things were different.”

Well of course they were different. You can’t expect anything to be the same unless we become a world populated with robots. The number of variables that change even from one year to the next are beyond the scope of calculation. Besides, the definition of life necessarily involves change. Take away the change and all we are is DEAD.

So I am very, very thankful that everything around here is so completely different. The temptation to play the comparison game doesn’t even present itself.

TEMPTATION: Did you here what I said? Temptation. The comparison game is a temptation. What is it that you are tempted to compare? You know there are some things in your life that fall into the category.

Instead, how about waking up to every new day with the intention to stand with God in the opportunity to re-create, redeem, and renew? no comparisons necessary; just the imperative of new life, and new hope, and fresh promise for a new day!

– DEREK