Out with the old, in with the new

Moving from North Carolina to Texas is a culture shock. You can eat Mexican food for all three meals in a day. There are no pig pickings. Every cookout includes a jar of jalapeños. Barbeque includes ribs, brisket, and fish, not just pulled pork. And cowboy boots are worn 24/7 and for every occasion. It is a whole new world.

My first Sunday here at TCU, I went to Ridglea Christian Church. There is something comforting about going into a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and knowing that there will be a Call to Worship (or Call to Prayer) followed by the Lord's Prayer. We will sing the Gloria Patri and the Doxology, and there will be communion, among other things. These are traditions as Disciples that nearly every church has in common. We know that even if the Doxology has a different tune, it is still the Doxology, and it will always be there.

That Sunday, the minister's sermon was about traditions and norms within the church. He challenged some of the church's traditions, saying, "If we don't know why we have them, why do we keep them?" At first I was aghast that the minister could even suggest that the traditions I found so comforting could lead us to a pothole in our faith. But he qualified his statement by saying that many traditions are wonderful and meaningful, such the tradition of communion.

Sometimes traditions get us stuck in a rut. We get too comfortable. We forget what is really important, and end up in a humdrum schedule that has us going…nowhere.

But we need to remember why we do things, and we need to find ways to burst out of our mundane little shells! We need to remember why we do communion and sing the Doxology. We need to get rid of traditions that hold us back and remember that God calls us to help others, not just ourselves.

This was the perfect message here during a time of complete and total transformation in my life. As I found myself thrust into a new world called Texas, I needed to know that change is okay. I needed to hear that my comfortable home in North Carolina was urging me to step out of my shell. It was pushing me to leave my old comfortable traditions and find some new ones.

So yes, I miss Greensboro, North Carolina. I miss the rolling hills. I miss Biscuitville. And I miss sweet tea. But I am learning to love Texas culture. I am discovering new traditions.

Alison Simon is in her first year as a HELM Leadership Fellow and is a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Greensboro, North Carolina.