Celebrating Firsts

We've had a lot of firsts around here lately. Last night I made my very first turkey (I've helped with my fair share of birds, but this was the first time I whipped one up all on my own):

We saw our first baby antelope a few days ago. I would have taken a picture of them, but they were so far away you wouldn't have been able to tell what they were for all the sage brush. It is amazing how well they blend in to the high arid plain scenery - it's like they were made to survive in this rugged country or something.

Juliette also, for the first time, took her diaper off on her very own - during nap time, when it was very, very dirty. What a site to behold! Don't be fearful of scrolling down though, I didn't take any pictures of that mess!

It does seem as if she is getting more and more ornery with each day. There is a mischievous look in her eye that must come from her dad. Okay, maybe from me. But mostly from her dad.

All these firsts are exciting (well, except for the un-diapering episode), but I must admit that sometimes I wish there was a bit less change in my life. Sometimes I catch myself reminiscing about "the way things used to be" and I get stuck longing for what has been.

This weekend when we visited The Big City, I was particularly indulgent. Probably because we spent the weekend with college friends, visited our old house, checked out our old haunts. It is a good thing I wasn't a contemporary of Lot - I'd be a pillar of salt for sure!

But you know what, I am realizing more and more how much it must sadden God when I dwell on the past - in part because it cultivates discontentment, and in part because it takes my eyes off what God is doing today!

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." - Isaiah 43:18-19

What an awesome passage. God is in the business of doing new things - things beyond our former experiences. He goes about making ways in the deserts of life, pouring out life-giving streams in the darkest, deadest wastelands of our existence. And in spending time dwelling on what has been, we are missing out on what He's doing here and now.

So here's to celebrating the firsts in life - first turkeys, first baby antelope, and first un-diapering . . . well, maybe I'll stop there. But you get my point.