I will never forget a certain mom who came into my office sixteen years ago when I was a high school counselor.  She came in to tell me her son was angry and frustrated at the changes going on at home.  I tuned in.  She shared that she and the boy’s father had recently become Christians, reconciled their split marriage, and totally changed the way they were living life in their home.  New structure and commitments in place as new followers of Jesus. 

I remember her telling me “‘we’re making some big changes at home, we’re not willing to turn back, and our son thinks we’re nuts.”  It wasn’t just about him not understanding “why” all the change.  It was about his routine comfort zone being messed with.  I got it.  And I thought, “wow.”  Sounds like they had burned the ships.

Musicians For King and Country explain it well in their song lyrics.

Step into a new day. 
We can rise up from the dust and walk away.
We can dance upon our heartache, yeah.
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships.
And don’t you look back.

In 1 Kings 19:21, we learn that Elisha “burned the plowing equipment” after Elijah cloaked him as his successor.  His example reminds us it is serious business when God has called us to do something or revealed to us we need to change.  Even Elisha knew that he’d better burn that plow, or he might be tempted to go back to his old life one day.

Burning sounds extreme…it is.  But sometimes, that’s just where we are.  We need extreme change to move us in the right direction – change of job, change of school or town, change of friends, change of habits, maybe even a change of church.  We may go through the drought of discomfort as we change, but we later get to experience “streams in the wasteland.”

“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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  Isaiah 43: 18-19

Whether you need to burn a ship or a plow, or you just feel God nudging you to make a few changes in your home, feel free to take a look at my very simple Beacon Goals Planner – I put it together as I thought about twenty-five years of life with my own family – things we did well, things I wish we had done better, lots of learning and seeking God.  Something I’m certain of, we will never look back and say, “I wish I had served God and my family less.”  I’m happy to be able to share this with you!