There are better things ahead than any we leave behind. – C.S. Lewis
I came across this quote in some notes I had made a long time ago. It struck me that, although it spoke to me during a very different time and season, there was still something to these words that made me pause today.
I’m pretty sure when C.S. Lewis wrote these words they were meant as an encouragement that even though today is sweet and wonderful, we shouldn’t be sad about moving on because tomorrow will most certainly bring something even sweeter and more wonderful.
If I’m being honest, which I always try to be with you all, there haven’t been a lot of sweet and wonderful days lately. Life is not normal. It feels like the entire world is on pause and no one seems to know when the pause button will be lifted.
Standing too close to someone puts a glint of fear in their eyes. No one hugs, and for a hug loving family like mine, its like some strange invisible rope has tied our arms to our sides. Because everyone wears a mask when out in public, you can’t tell anymore if the people you meet are smiling at you or sticking their tongue out at you! I miss smiles and a simple mouthed “thank you” as a car stops so I can cross the parking lot.
Some days, it feels like I’m hanging on by a mere thread. There doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel – in fact, it’s so dark, I can’t even see the sides of the tunnel, let alone the end! Nothing is as it should be.
And yet, every once in a while, some small glimmer of positivity pokes through the noise and chaos. A new neighbor moves in and you find you have lots in common and a new friendship is born. Because the weather has been generally milder than most normal summers, the bright cheery flowers I planted when quarantine first began are unbelievably still bright and cheery. All those books that have been sitting gathering dust on bookshelves are being read because there is more time. A simple drive around the city feels like a mini vacation. And the lost art of simply being still no longer makes me antsy!
As I struggle to remember what day it is, I’m thinking about the C.S. Lewis quote. The world does indeed look different. There are no guaranties that things will go back to the way they were before the pandemic hit. In fact, there is a high probability that things will look very different once we all climb out of the long tunnels we’ve been hibernating in for the past few months. Maybe that’s where we take Mr. Lewis’ words of encouragement to heart.
If we accept that things are going to be different and decide to make a conscious effort not to cling to the desperate hope that things will go “back to normal”, we can be encouraged that there may well be even better things ahead; things we never imagined or dreamed about because we didn’t know how different the world would look. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again; none of this caught God by surprise. God is in the business of using the ordinary to complete a plan that we have only a small view of and to bring glory to His holiness.
What if what we face ahead is better than what we left behind because we each have a new appreciation for life? What if being forced to slow down has become more natural for some of us? And what if, rather than feeling like we’ve wasted months sitting at home waiting out the pandemic, we felt revitalized and renewed in our passion for each other and a Savior who went through way more than we’re going through now? I believe that would definitely be a better future than anything we may have left behind!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
– Hebrews 12:1-4 (NLT)
Again, beautiful.