Don't Stop, Keep Moving Forward

I go through a lot of airports. So many, and sometimes some so often, that I see the changes in the airports. Last week I noticed they moved the Cinnabon in the Detroit airport from the end of one terminal to the middle of it. And they added ice cream to its new location. I don't know if I should be proud of my observation skills or sad that I notice sweets that much.

The good thing is I learn tricks on where to get the best deals on food or flights. I know which airports I can get to in less than 2 hours, and I can actually check and get through TSA in some airports in less than an hour. If I sound a little proud, I am. That is a strategic move. It takes planning and preparation. LOL When your flight is at 5 a.m., you want all the sleep you can get. LOL.

But the one thing that has been catching my eye the most lately is the exits. When I leave my home airport, there are these doors. When you go out, there are three sets of doors. Once you pass a door, it closes and the next opens, same with the next and the next. I know this is for safety. There is a stern voice that says, "Walk, don't stop, keep moving forward." This tells me if I stop, I could get stuck between the doors. And I definitely cannot go back. But as long as I keep moving forward, I'm just fine. I can get to my luggage, my family, anywhere I need to go. Here's a picture of an example.

This reminded me of 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

When we give our life to Christ, we are a new creation. We aren't literally new. I wish it happened that way. I wish my body changed, but it doesn't. Or I wish my old thoughts about myself just easily went away, but they don't. I have heard people say that they completely changed easily when they gave their life to God. That did not happen for me. I still battled with depression, insecurity, and many other things. Praise God that through time in His word, therapy, and walking out my faith, He has changed my life. Gradually, I have become a new person. But I had to first change the way I spoke about myself.

I no longer say "I have depression"; I say "I battle depressive thoughts" or "I battle depression." The same with insecurity. When I became a new creation in Christ, those words were no longer definitions of me. I may still battle them or struggle, but they are not who I am. I am not turning around. I am not standing still. I am moving forward, and my words will reflect that, even when my life does not feel that way, because I believe God's promises. Some of my struggles have taken years to work through, and I still at times feel like I am in the dark tunnel. Do I keep moving forward? I thought I was over this? And I hear the stern robotic voice remind me, "Don't stop, keep moving forward." The promise is there. We are the new creation. We have to hold on to that promise and speak it over ourselves, no matter what the world says about us.

Don't stop. Keep moving forward.