Painting Pictures of Egypt

Sara Groves

Change. That’s what this song is about for me. The hesitancy of making a change in your life. Again, a song about the choices we make and how they affect our lives. Only this time, it’s more from the perspective of the one making the choices and how those choices are made. Sara Groves uses the story of the Israelites exodus out of Egypt, and the 40 days of wandering that they went through (even though their journey could have only taken a day or two), to the process of change.  This song reflects how I am with change. I don’t like it, and I do not enter into it easily. I like to be in my comfort zone and I’d rather stay there if at all possible. Problem is, being a Christian means stepping out of your comfort zone and into the life God has prepared for you. While I know this, and anticipate all that God has in store for me, I always have that hesitancy-- that initial step off the cliff feeling whenever God calls for a change to be made in my life. It seems that whenever we reflect on our past we leave out the negative things and just see the things we miss and that’s how nostalgia is formed. Even if we were miserable at the time, we look back and say, “oh, just to be back in the good ‘ole days”. I do that too, but more especially when I am faced with a change. However, I have come to learn that change is not always a bad thing, and can oftentimes be a good thing and it helps us to grow and learn. I think I will always initially have this hesitancy though, even while I have learned to overcome it.

I don’t wanna leave here, don’t wanna stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
And the places I long for the most are the places where I’ve been
They are calling out to me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith, it’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable when you move so much
And the place I was wasn’t perfect but I had found a way to live
And it wasn’t milk or honey but then neither is this

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
I’m leaving out what it lacks
Cause the future feels so hard and I wanna go back
But the places they used to fit me, cannot hold the things I’ve learned
And those roads were closed off to me while my back was turned

The past is so tangible, I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
And I was dying for some freedom but now I hesitate to go
I am caught between the promise and the things I know

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
I’m leaving out what it lacks
Cause the future feels so hard and I wanna go back
But the places they used to fit me, cannot hold the things I’ve learned
And those roads were closed off to me while my back was turned

If it comes too quick, I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick, I may not appreciate it

Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?