Re-Dream the Dream or Rearrange the Furniture

(Fumes, Form, and Fashion, Part 3)

Suffocating.  That’s how Amanda describes it. No, the office walls aren’t literally closing in on her. She isn’t fighting with anyone at work, home, or anywhere else. In fact, everything is really calm.  Predictable. Safe.  Consistent.

Or, to hear Amanda describe it, boring, ritualistic, depressing.  Yes, suffocating.

Everything on the outside speaks of steady in an unsteady world. But something inside the 33-year-old wife, mother, and loan processor at the local bank is screaming for something new. Different.  Something alive.

Amanda needs renewal.

What she may not realize is that with the urge to resurge, she’s standing at a dangerous fork in the road.  More on that in a minute.

Quick Recap

In the previous two posts I have explored the need we all have for renewal. Not necessarily a complete overhaul – that would be more akin to restoration.  What I’m referring to is a lifestyle where, though we deal with outward wear and tear, inwardly we are being consistently renewed with new life – and that’s true across the board – spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically to a lesser degree.

So how does that happen?  I have suggested going back to the place where it all begins – the story of creation in Genesis. If we can understand what took place to breathe life into the world to start with, maybe we can catch a glimpse of what can bring new, fresh life to us today.

The first word used to describe what God did in creation is spoke. And to this day we live with a hunger for the voice and truth of God.  More on that here.

The second word used to describe God’s creative work is form. When God created Adam he used a model (of Himself), and personally provided structure, order and design. And interestingly enough, when most men (and some women) are under duress, they tend to return to a world of form, where things have structure, order, and purpose.  More on that here.

Enter the Whoa!-man

When the Lord decided that it wasn’t good for the man to be alone, He put him to sleep and created a partner for him.  What’s interesting is that the writer of Genesis uses a completely different word to describe it, and the New American Standard Version captures it best:

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man (Genesis 2:21-22, NASB).

Other translations simply use the word “made” to describe God’s creation of Eve.  The Hebrew word literally says He built her.  The official definition as the word is used in scripture  is “to take something existing and make something new with it.”

This was a redesign to complement the man, and was as much visual as anything else.  As my friends in Thailand say, Eve was “Same same, but different.”

And interestingly enough, most women (and some men), when they’re under duress, she tend to return to a world of fashion.  Not just fashion as we use the word today, but anything that changes her appearance or the appearance of her environment.  Anything that takes something she already has and makes something new.

So one friend told me recently his wife has decided it’s time to sell their house and get another one – for no apparent reason, according to him.

This is why my wife, a professional therapist, advises depressed people (usually other women) to rearrange the furniture.  It’s also why we have entire industries that change from season to season.  Something in our DNA – particularly our feminine DNA – craves the life that comes from “newness.”

Babies, anyone?

How about shopping?

What does this have to do with spiritual renewal?

What I’m describing isn’t just a change in scenery based on a pop-psychology reading of the Bible.  The idea of doing something new based on something existing runs throughout scripture.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel promised a new covenant.

Jesus gave a new commandment.

The Lord gives us a new name and promises us a new heaven and earth.

Heaven is described as a place where God makes all things new.

Paul says that if anyone is in Christ, old things are passed away and everything has been made new.

And all throughout the Bible we are encouraged to “sing a new song to the Lord.”

All of this and more has one thing in common – it appeals to the imagination.  It creates – or re-creates – vision.

Your Wake-up Call

So. How long has it been since you dared to dream or create?

(True confession: This morning I walked past our beautiful piano that sits in a room dedicated to it in our house and it dawned on me… it’s been at least nine months since I sat down and played the thing.)

How long has it been since you had a change in scenery or a re-fire of your imagination?

How long has it been since you even tried to pursue something outside of your spiritual or religious rut?

How long has it been since you sensed the Lord was doing a new thing?  Here’s a little hint: HE hasn’t stopped being the Lord of “all things new.” If your spiritual life is boring it’s because you’ve chosen a boring spiritual life.

Also, for those of you who are married – especially men – recognize the potential and tendency every woman (and men to a lesser degree) has and needs for fashion.  Not clothes and accessories per se, but visual change.

Look for ways to create new sight (perhaps without putting the house on the market).  Recognize the power of a change in scenery, not just for you, but for those who look to you for leadership.

And yes… maybe it’s time to dream again. To imagine. To risk doing something completely unprecedented.

A Fork in the Road

Word, Form, and Fashion.  Those are God’s three creation – and re-creation – elements.  One speaks to hearing, one speaks to doing, and one speaks to seeing.

Truth, Order, and Vision.  That’s another way of looking at it.  To renew is to reconnect somehow with one or more of these, and preferably all three.

But did you know that, when faced with the challenge of an exhausted soul life, in our search for renewal we can do some galactically stupid things instead?  Ever hear that burnout can make idiots of us all?  More on that next post.

Meanwhile, the piano is calling.

Tagged as: Change, Imagination, Renewal, Vision