Do You Need a Fresh Start?
I have always loved “new”.
I will forever be thrilled with freshly-sharpened pencils … a never-been-used notebook … a new, stylish dress … and crisp sheets on my bed.
What “new” things do you delight in?
I am constantly rejuvenated by a bouquet of freshly-picked flowers from the garden … a book with an unbroken spine … the sparkling possibility of a brand-new friendship.
There have been stellar and unmatched moments in my life when I embrace the glory of something miraculous and “new” just like a two-year old splashes in the puddles of a spring rain!
My adrenalin soars when I experience the glee of a new box of stationery ready to be friendly … a red, ripe tomato still warm from the sunshine in a summer’s garden … and an empty calendar aching to be filled with the activities of a new year.
As a mother, I’ll simply never forget one of the greatest “new” moments in my life.
I, in fact, have experienced this particular “new” 5 times over.
As long as I am living and breathing this side of heaven, I will always sweetly remember the sensation of holding a newborn baby in my arms … so fresh from heaven … so untouched by the world … so miraculously unblemished.
5 times I have experienced the gift of a new life … a red, wrinkled face and 10 perfect little toes … clear, innocent eyes ready to explore the life that was ahead.
When I placed my nose close to the perfection of their little mouths, I could almost smell heaven in their baby breath.
There is absolutely nothing that compares to the gift of a new baby.
However, there is another “new” that brings unexplainable joy to my heart!
Would you like to hear about it?!
This unforgettable, too-good-to-be-true, “let’s change the world” celebratory experience is the “new” of a fresh start!
A do-over! A second chance!
I love the crystalline possibility that comes with being able to start over again … to begin again … to take a deep breath … and to set my gaze toward tomorrow in spite of what lies behind me.
A new day … an untouched tomorrow … a pioneer spirit.
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.” – Isaiah 42:9
I recall years ago when I had the opportunity to speak with a young woman who was about to jump off the diving board of safe and protected family life … into the pool of exciting collegiate living.
I remember saying to her, “Tori! You can be anyone you want to be! Decide who you truthfully are in the deepest part of your soul and then be that girl! Don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from being the person you have always longed to become!”
And as I spoke those words over her novice life, I realized that the same possibility was just as true for me as it was for her.
It didn’t matter that she was a fresh 18 year-old recent high school graduate … and that I was a seasoned woman with six decades of living under my belt.
It didn’t matter that my body had been marked by wrinkles and stretch marks … and that she was beautifully young with a slender figure and dewy skin.
It didn’t matter that Tori had more of life in front of her than behind her … while I had more of life behind me than in front of me.
It didn’t matter that Tori was about to become a college co-ed … and that I was a grandmother and had been married for decades.
It. Doesn’t. Matter.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” – II Corinthians 5:17
Christ loves to give fresh starts to wrinkled, spotted, and tired bodies.
He loves to speak new life over the dead, barren places in our hearts.
Christ came to make us new … He knew there would be seasons in life that would just wear us down with weakness and worry. He came to give new power and new strength.
Christ came to make us new … He understood that discouragement and disappointment would age us into decrepit versions of ourselves long before He was done using us.
And so … He came … to give fresh hope and renewed joy.
Christ does not even notice what the date on your birth certificate is … how many wrinkles you have accumulated on your formerly newborn skin … or how much of life has past you by.
He came to make you new! He longs to hold you in His arms and to gaze at your potential.
His heart is overwhelmed with the complete joy of giving life to you whether you are 18 or 82.
He loves gazing into your eyes and celebrating all that is yet ahead!
So today is your day for a fresh start … for a new beginning … and for a divine make-over.
You see, the God Who is an expert at making all things new, has made you!
He is the God who is making all things miraculously new … and that includes YOU!
“And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” – Revelation 21:5
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!