The other day a person on our parish staff was telling me about their cat’s adjustment problems to a new home. The change was causing him to be anxious and to act in less than friendly ways. Baxter has been a blessing to me because he never fell into this problem. He has gone through five moves in the course of our life together, and each one he managed with aplomb. Of course, he would case the joint at first, figuring out where he wanted to sleep, explore, eat his meals, and have his bathroom. I usually accommodated his wishes, because it made a change in our living situation so much easier to handle.
Soon after each move, Baxter would settle into his routine. After a month, no one would ever know he didn’t live all of his life where he was. He found a way to fit his needs and desires into the new situation. Of course, I have been the constant in Baxter’s life through all these changes. No matter where we might be and with whom we might be living, we were together. The schedule might have to adjust a bit. The surroundings may be more noisy, less private, bigger or smaller in living space. Still, we were in it together, and that gave both of us confidence to figure out how to make it work. Faithful and true relationships anchor our lives.
We need to take time to think about how we best mark transitions as we face a new year. Everything will not be exactly the same in 2017. At this point, we may not know what the changes will be, but we can be sure there will be some. They may be large and dramatic like a new baby, a new job, a new marriage or the loss of a loved one. They may be just minor adjustments like a new house, a new friend, a different schedule for school or a new favorite restaurant or TV show. Whatever changes in the year ahead though, we don’t have to become anxious and upset about it.
Think about the relationships that sustain us. We carry them with us through the changes ahead, and they will help us deal with them. They provide perspective on what may at first seem overwhelming. They provide comfort when the familiar gives way to the strange and uncertain. They steady us when the ship of life may begin to rock, and they assure us that we have what it takes to get to the shore again.
God is the source of all these life-sustaining relationships we rely upon. He is the cement binding faithful and true friendships and family ties. He is ever present through the changes life brings, assuring us of love, care and affection through those who sustain us through life’s transitions. God is the quiet, hidden presence we take with us wherever we might be. His mystery is malleable to fit into the changing circumstances in which we may find ourselves in the coming year.
Don’t be afraid. We are never alone or totally lost. God knows us as His children, and He will never abandon us no matter what may come our way. He moves with us and lives with us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. He makes the new familiar, and the familiar fresh when He is allowed to share our lives.
So Happy New Year, whatever it holds for us. We can make it because the God of Jesus is with us, holding us in the palm of His hand, close to His heart, wherever another year of living takes us.
