“The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s home, and go to a land that I am going to show you” (Genesis 12:1, GNT).

     In 2000, a newly appointed bishop toured the annual conference to meet a sampling of pastors and key lay leaders. The bishop stopped by the church I was serving at the time for lunch. The bishop remarked that he and my mother had met one another at a prayer conference years before. Midway through the meal, my wife, Cathy, stopped by to join the conversation. The bishop turned to me and asked, “Wasn’t your mother’s name Kathy?” I replied, “I decided to marry a woman whose name I wouldn’t forget.” The bishop replied, “It sounds to me more like you’re in a rut.”

     I have no clue whether Abram was in a rut when God challenged Abram to leave his familiar surroundings. What I do know is that Abram did as God had asked and quickly found himself outside his comfort zone. I’m certain the experience was part exhilarating, part frustrating, and part startling.

     Yet during his pilgrimage to a new land, Abram discovered the Promised Land. Though previously childless, Abram and his wife, Sarai, also were blessed with a new family. In this new place, Abram found a renewed sense of purpose and great happiness.

     I think we could all use a dose of Abram’s courageous spirit these days. A recent study has found that most of us routinely visit the same twenty-five places over and over again. We eat at the same restaurants. We purchase the same brand of automobiles. We talk with the same people. The conclusion is that the majority of us are, in fact, in a rut.

     However, the researchers who conducted the study reported that the farther you wander and the more new experiences you pursue, the happier and more fulfilled you will be. Of course, new places and new encounters are less predictable than the old standbys. You may eat strange food when trying out a new bistro. You also may meet a new person who rubs you the wrong way.

     Yet there is more to life than ease and pleasure. One enjoys a richer existence when subjected to new and challenging experiences. The exposure to new faces and new places is well worth the discomfort you may feel. The learning centers of your brain will become energized and reinvigorated. Your heart likewise will be stimulated with renewed enthusiasm.

     Consequently, getting out of the rut in which you find yourself is most worthy of your time and effort. Your disposition will shine more brightly. Your outlook on life will be redirected more positively. And like Abram, the new lands into which you wander may bring you more blessings you never imagined likely.