Part 2: Return
Right On Time: A 4-Part Series for the New Year
ICYMI, part 1 here.
We talked about remembering.
Today, we’re talking about what it looks like to return.
The rhythms of nature reveal God’s design. (Look up.)
Walking with God is a daily practice. (He’s here.)
The exile-and-return pattern in scripture shows God’s faithfulness. (He made a way for us to come back.)
Every night I tell my girls, I tell myself, tomorrow is a new day. It’s comforting to think that whatever happened that day, the Lord has more for us tomorrow. We have another chance. Another change to try again, to get it right, to face the hard, or do the best we can.
There was evening, and there was morning… Another day.
We don’t exactly experience Groundhog Day, but we do live in rhythms. We go to sleep, we wake up, and we begin again. Most days pass us by. Sometimes I feel as if we live for less than 24 hours at a time.
Still, we return to the morning.
The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. Ecclesiastes 1:5
Creation itself shows us God’s design. We return to the seasons each year. Spring, summer, fall, and winter.
The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. Ecclesiastes 1:6
All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. Ecclesiastes 1:7
Every year, I set out to walk with God more closely.
Scripture tells us Enoch walked with God. Noah, his great-grandson, walked with God. Abraham and Moses communicated with Him almost directly. I think of the prophets. And then, here I am. Brooke. One of many, many people in this world, trying to find my way, and still learning how to walk with Him.
More and more, I’m convinced He’s walking His people Home. He’s nearer than we think. He has more for us than what we can immediately see or understand.
At one point, I tried to make this very practical. Thirty intentional days. Simple rhythms. What does it look like to walk with God? And what I noticed was that I became more aware of His presence, more honest about my needs, and more willing to come back.
That’s the word I keep coming back to. Return.
Just… return.
Return to the Lord every morning.
Return to His love when I feel worn out.
Return to His peace when my thoughts spin.
Return to His Word when I’m unsure what’s true.
Return. Again and again. Until one day, we Return Home.
There’s a whole exile/return pattern in scripture, too. I’d love to read and explore this idea more, but essentially, what I know is God’s people wander. God disciplines and calls them back. He makes a way for them to return. And then He restores their relationship.
Think of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Exiled. But God would make a way back for us to be with Him again.
Think of Moses, the Israelites, the Exodus. The 10 Commandments, etc.
With this in mind, I would not be doing my job well if I also didn’t remind us that returning is also repentance. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
I wanted to pull out my book for this.
Gotta make sure I get this right for us. ;)
In Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem defines repentance as:
A heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.
So what does this look like? Great question. I asked myself the same. I really think it’s faithfully turning our lives back toward God who has never stopped turning toward us. We get to participate in turning back toward the life we were actually made for, and when we do, we re-enter or step into the flow of God’s purposes and plans for our lives. There’s obviously more we could unpack here, but for today, let’s keep going.
In Revelation, in one of the letters to the churches, we’re told to return to our first love.
Remember where you began. Come back to what matters.
We are all on this journey of returning. For me, it often looks like recentering my mind back on Him, His words, and His nearness. No matter how far we wander, there is always a way back. Every sunrise, every season, even the tide bears witness. We’re drawn toward our Creator.
It’s 2026 now, let’s return to Him.
We can’t walk in this world alone. We’ve got to stay together. It’s disorienting and loud out there. We’ve got to remember He’s near. We’ve got to stay close to Him. And as you read this, I’m praying for all of us that when we forget, His Holy Spirit would help us remember. When we forget, we will return.
Lord, where else would I go?
We’ve been remembering and returning together, and if you’d like a gentle companion for this in-between space, I’d love to share Volume 4 of the Honest Questions Notebook with you. The Right On Time Edition. It’s a 17-page guide I created to help you reflect and move thoughtfully into what’s next. If you’re a paid Substack subscriber, it’s my gift to you as we walk into the new year.
