Familiar: Frequently Seen or Experienced

“God uses the booboos, the blatant mess-ups and those old familiar moments to point the way to his grace and mercy.”
- Chonda Pierce

The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT


My friend sent me a New Year’s devotion written by Chonda Pierce, a comedian that keeps our relationship with God and ourselves in perspective. She talked about how familiar tended to be a negative word for her, conjuring up boredom and routine. Yet this year she began to realize how comforting the familiar can be. If you look at the definition of familiar as “an everyday occurrence”, it follows that my attitude about life could become indifferent. The old “been there done that”…yawn. But if you turn the word over and see another one of its definitions, it has the sense of intimacy.

This struggle with the value of familiar pervades all aspects of my life. One moment I can be longing for the familiar and the next I am bemoaning the fact that life is so unchanging and even boring. I get excited about the beginning of a new semester or a new season, then after awhile I get bogged down. I want a new outfit, but then I find myself wearing my worn jeans and a favorite sweater. I want routine, but I also want adventure.