Moving From The Pause

There is an old proverb that is ancient and we’ve summed it up with this more modern phrase that we use all the time.

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

Now. If you study and apply the thought to where I am today, you can gather that the proverb is mostly negative, but there are some positive aspects. Why? Though it’s true that something on the move does not have the opportunity to grow moss, there is something to be said for planting roots where even moss has an opportunity to flourish.

It’s a two-way street. Moss has a purpose but it also shows the sedentary place where little is disturbed. However, when it’s time to move one has to work hard to step up to the challenge being faced.

It’s like moving from “Circle the wagons!” to Wagon’s, Ho!

Think about it from a scored music page. The author creates pauses for purpose. Why? I don’t know. Music is a language of math I’m not really familiar with, but I know everything you see on the page is code for what notes need to be played with your instrument! Think about this: A Pause (fermata) is not just a Rest (source). A pause extends the note, a rest is absent any sound. Hmmm… Interesting thought!

Keeping Momentum

Where are you most content? Where do you feel the most settled? I have found when I’m sedentary, then “place” gets comfortably suited to me. It’s almost like nesting. You know, add a little, remove a lot, and make sure the comfort zone is achieved. My momentum shifts and I slow down. My comfort zone gets established and it’s hard to move.

But I also like the excitement of being on the move. New Territory, with new horizons, and the possibility of new challenges! What’s around the bend, and over the hill? Let’s check it out!

When I reach that new place, then I’m willing to settle in. Again. Let the moss have an opportunity to grow until it’s time to go. Again!

Key thought: We need a balance between the shifting conditions of life. Sometimes we force ourselves to move, and other times we should simply be content to enjoy the pause.

Moving From the Pause

My in-laws bought their house in 1953, and then raised their family and moved into retirement until it was time to sell. There’s a big story behind this, but when you think about it, this is what many did. Today, you can build a generational home to create a unique family structure that fits your world. Not a bad idea!

A few weeks ago, my parents and I drove through some of the old neighborhoods (yes, plural) where we lived. The house my sister first lived in, to the house where I went to kindergarten from. Vague memories. Not every house was identical to my mind – it’s been nearly 60 years since I was there. But there was comfort in knowing my roots.

This showed me something.

Life has many pauses, resets and restarts!

As the world changes around us, and our needs adjust to reality, then the place I reside in is simply a temporary location until I need to pick and move from that paused time and place!

In fact, I asked my parents about the moves we made. I don’t really remember them. Going to sleep here, and waking there, our transition simply happened.

I’m sure there was agony on selecting what goes, what stays, and “How many boxes do we need?” The more stuff you have, the more difficult it is to make a choice to relocate. My family has made many difficult and long-distance moves. We make hard decisions on what to keep, what made sense to move, and what you simply leave behind. Sometimes with regret. Sometimes with joy.

Coming and Going

There are many careers that must relocate periodically. Think about immigrants moving from this country to that one. Consider those downsizing and giving up their large homes for a little place in some retirement community.

Life shifts from here, to there, coming in and going out. It’s almost like the tide is constantly shifting just like politics and fads. It’s never the same, and we must learn how to adapt from this stuff to that stuff. What was once thought important is merely a boat-anchor keeping us from being fluid as life changes.

I was thinking about Jesus and his ministry. Born on the move, fleeing from those that would destroy him, going from this country to that country, and finally finding some temporary dwelling with his parents, and begins his life having already been moved hither and yon!

Then, he begins his ministry. An itinerant preacher, if you would, building his ministry with nothing in his pocket and no house of his own. At least, no house here!

Then a certain scribe came and said to Him,
“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
(Matthew 8:19-20 NKJV)

I like to think that Jesus understood how temporary life is, and teaches us that what happens here is even more fleeting than we can imagine! He promises a better place than we can imagine and he’s preparing it for us! A special resting place. If I understand it well enough, then we will never have to pause, reset, nor restart our coming and goings ever again. It will be a place of “final pause”. Can you imagine it?