This is the last time.
It’s Saturday, and the A-Day spring football scrimmage is over. We all head to the trees. Over 60,000 of us.
In three days, the trees on Toomer’s Corner will be cut down, ending a decades-old Auburn University tradition of rolling this pair of live oaks by Toomer’s Drugs on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and College Street to celebrate Auburn victories.
The change is forced.
In November 2010, a fanatic of a rival college purposely poisoned the trees. Their death was gradual, but their demise is final.
So after this final celebratory rolling, the old tradition must morph into a new one.
It’s Sunday morning.
We’re asked to get up on our feet. We do. We begin clapping in rhythm with the guitars, the keyboards, the drums. Our mouths open and praise spills out. Hearts overflow in worship to Jesus.
It’s not how I’ve always done it on Sundays. But this new way encourages me now to greater praise and higher worship, even on Sundays. It works for me in ways that the old traditions were starting to skip.
Sometimes you have no choice but to change.
But sometimes you change only by choice.
I chose my change.
The traditions surrounding the oak trees are being forced to change. The revelry of victories seek new expression.
But my worship traditions changed by choice. The ones no longer expressing the most honor to God needed to change. To be intentionally replaced with purposeful ones, reigniting the worship to the One most worthy of it. From me to him.
Sometimes the choice is between death or change.
I choose change.
* * *
What works for one may not work for another.
What works in one season may not work in the next.
What change have you had to choose?
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