It's Hard to Get to the Promised Land When You're Looking Back at Egypt

So, today was the awkward transition Sunday in between semesters.

Some people have moved out, but not all of them. There were still goodbyes to be said. A few new people have moved in, but not very many... the men don't move in until tomorrow.

I'm in my typical nostalgic hating change kind of mode, that always takes me a month or so to get over. I mean, don't get me wrong... I'm not in a little ball of depression. I am excited to meet new people and I think this summer will be fun. My new roommate Brittany moved in last night--I already know her from the ward. She's a lot of fun and I think this summer will be a blast.

But, my mind keeps wandering to all the highlights of the last year, to all of my friends who have moved away or gotten married or even just gotten a significant other recently and now I never see them anymore. I miss the fun times that we had. I miss them so much already, even though some of them moved like... two days ago. Part of me wishes I could rewind time and live through this last year again.

It's funny how I get like that. I've done this enough times, you'd think I'd be used to it. And there are always better things ahead. No matter how much change happens or how many friends move away... I always make new friends and get to do new things I wasn't expecting and life is generally awesome. But looking ahead, you can never know for sure what's coming... That's what usually gets me.

We had the perfect Sunday School lesson about this today. We were reading out of Numbers about the children of Israel during the years they wandered through the wilderness. Over and over again, they bewail leaving Egypt. They remember it as being better than it was (after all, they were enslaved!) and they fail to see the blessings God is bestowing upon them in the present. They don't understand how much better the Promised Land is. They can't see what is ahead of them, and so they dwell on what's behind.

This was a reminder to me not to dwell on the past. For the record... my past is a little happier than being a slave in Egypt. BUT. It's over. God is leading me forward to new adventures and bigger, better things. I need to trust Him that my promised land is ahead. I need to look forward to that and be happy, instead of being sad about things that have past. I can't see my future... but He can, and He keeps telling me everything is going to be okay. I need to trust Him, even if I do spend a little time in the wilderness before things work out.