What is the impetus behind the transcultural enthusiasm that appears at the end of a year and the beginning of a new year? Social media and television ads burst with unimaginable promises. We hear claims that If we begin ingesting a specific vitamin or subscribe to an exercise program, we will finally become a changed person, new and improved. Really?
(Here is a piece of trivia. Celery has negative calories.You actually use more calories munching and digesting this crunchy green vegetable than it offers to begin with. So, we can allow ourselves to chow down on those green stalks, while attempting to bring our current shape nearer to the clothes sizes that are resting in our closets !)
The new year brings renewed committment to gain control over our junk drawers, organize our file cabinets and make our automobiles sparkle. We see the new year as an opportunity to deep clean our places of abode and finally learn how to use the Apps on our smartphones. How ironic that the holiday drive to purchase and receive new toys and tech is quickly eclipsed by hard core determination to declutter, improve and simplify?
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but the time between 12/31/24 and 1/1/25 is a standard twenty-four hours. There is no extraordinary power in those particular 1440 minutes. Weren’t those apps sitting on our phones waiting anxiously to be made useful on 10/1 or 11/1 or 12/1? I can honestly confess that there are no less toast crumbs on the floor of my 2015 Toyota on 1/1/25 than there were in October. My “emergency make-up bag” has no less dried up mascara tubes than it did at the beginning of any year.
January 1st IS hope filled, an opportunity for a fresh start, a mulligan. But why must we wait an entire year to reboot when each and every day offers a blank page waiting to be filled with unimaginable stories? Stories of acts kindness and bold declarations of God’s glory. Tales of timely words of encouragement, sacrificial acts, hand holding and belly laughs or pages filled with periods of rest and exponential productivity empowered by well timed rest.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Each and every day gifts us with the opportunity to listen graciously, apologize humbly and respond quickly to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. Every single sunrise invites us as servants of Christ to fix our eyes on Him, to re-discover His generosity, grace and kindness. To acknowledge the nourishment of our bodies and souls that is as relentless as the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Our gracious God invites us to His throne of grace. He is ready for us to bring our heart aches, fears, failures and thanksgiving and lay them at His feet.
Hebrews 4:16
We are not held hostage by dates illuminating on our cell phones or printed on our wall calendars. We don’t need a ginormous ball in Time Square to be dropped before we embark on a new journey, a needed change or challenge. His mercies daily opens doors and offers new beginnings every day, every sunrise.
Every word I have shared with you over the last four years, is a reminder from God’s Spirit to my heart. You see, I am one of those who gets nearly giddy as the old year closes out and a new year is born. I feel excitement build as the face of our smart TV counts down the seconds before the fireworks explode and the festivities crescendo. For decades I have labeled 1/1 as the day of new starts, slim downs and simplifying my crammed up life. I have defined 1/1 as my chance to do life better, get rid all that so easily binds me and finally complete tasks that I procrastinated for the last 12 months. Silly, blind woman that I am…each day I am invited to start new! Every sunrise declares God’s invitation to listen to his whispers, follow in His footsteps and be transformed by the renewing of my mind.
Romans 12:2
My prayer for all of us is that we will experience the reality that every day is a new beginning! Because we are loved beyond any human measure, He unveils his grace with every single breath, every single day.
Romans 8:-38-39
Shalom and Shalom,
Karen
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