No Small Change

Everybody likes something new, every now and then. Think: a new car, a new coat, a new day. But, there are some things in life that just should never change. You know, things like the way your mom makes French toast, Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, the scent of lilacs, stuff like that.

While in Seattle on vacation this week, Maureen and I stopped at a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store on Market Street in Ballard and ordered two fruit smoothies. As I approached the cashier I noticed the sign, in big, handwritten letters: “FEAR CHANGE? Leave it here.” Next to the sign was a jar filled with loose coins and a few dollar bills. Cute.

The next day, Maureen and I, together with our sons and daughter-in-law, drove to the Pacific coast for our annual family reunion. This is the 85th consecutive year that our family has gathered at the beach. For the first 40 years, the family met in a remote little seaside village named Copalis. And then, in the early 1960s, the tribe moved its summer reunion a few miles south on the Washington coast, to Ocean Shores. We’ve been playing Rook (a favorite card game), playing in the sand, exploring tide-pools, sharing meals, and laughing and visiting with five generations of cousins, aunts and uncles, etc., each summer at Ocean Shores every year since.

Until this year. For the first time in 45 years, the family will not gather at Ocean Shores—or even on the Washington coast. We’re converging on the town of Seaside, Oregon. Oregon? Okay, it’s just across the Columbia River from Washington. And, it doesn’t have a sales tax (on anything), unlike Washington. And, it’s still the Pacific coast. But, c’mon. Oregon? Not Ocean Shores? Not Copalis? What ever happened to our sense of tradition? Of keeping some things fixed anchors in this chaotic world of exponential change? Rook just won’t be the same at Seaside. Or clam chowder. Or the starfish in the tide-pools. Or a hundred other details that are sacred to our memory.

Fear change? Not me. I loathe it. At my core, I’m a traditionalist who would prefer that everything just stay the same. Predictable = stable = easier to manage = I don’t have to take risks = I can remain comfortable = I am in control.

But I only had two choices this year for our family reunion: (1) show up in Seaside, or (2) miss it altogether. Either way, my summer was destined to be changed, to be different. We drove to Seaside.

And, guess what? What an absolutely delightful lace Seaside turned out to be! The beach houses we rented were very cool—polished hardwood floors, fireplaces, gabled windows, comfy furniture. Sweeping views of sand dunes and surf. Dramatic coastline. Perfect weather. The town was crowded with quaint cafes, shops, sleepy streets and picturesque bridges across small waterways that empty into the sea. And just down the road is stunning Cannon Beach and the Gibraltar-like Haystack Rock. And the lighthouses at Cape Disappointment. Google these places on-line and see for yourself. They’re fabulous.

Actually, our extended family has had one of its best visits in years. The Pacific sunset at Seaside has been breathtaking. The s’mores at the campfire on the beach? Scrumptious. And, oh yeah, did I tell you that there’s no sales tax in Oregon? Hmmm. Better pick up another T-shirt.

Maybe change is necessary sometimes to appreciate the world around us and expand our horizons. The tradition of getting our family together should never change—but where we get together can change. Maybe, when we make the commitment to stay together as a family, the Lord has a way of exceeding our expectations. It sure worked that way for us at Seaside this year.

And, at Madison Park, too. Thanks so much for embracing the changes—and investing in the future—at Madison Park. It’s a big investment for me to get my wife and kids out west for the family reunion. But there’s no treasure greater than maintaining those relationships. The same can be said of our church family. I know it’s a big investment for many of you to meet at Madison Park. But, I am certain the Lord will honor your choice to do so. Thanks for driving the “extra mile” (or two or twenty) for the joy of seeing one another on Sundays and welcoming new friends. Fear change? No, not really, when we face it together.

Seaside. Madison Park. Places to be surprised for the good and in which to nurture faith and community. If you can’t make it to Seadside this month, Madison Park, too, hath her charms. Even if it’s different. Acts 2:42