With each new beginning
comes letting go of the old.
New things can be exciting.
We all love to get a new outfit that feels great and makes us look good. New shoes that are so cute and are the cherry on top of our favorite clothes. Even a new job that holds the promise of more money, more meaning or both.
A New Year can feel like the new beginning we are longing for as well.
But New isn’t always better.
Sometimes that new outfit just doesn’t feel the same once you have washed it. Or those new shoes don’t feel so great after wearing them all day. Even that new job has the person in the office that gets on your nerves. Just because it is new doesn’t mean it will be better.
You are still you in the new.
Isn’t it funny how we can forget the fact that we are still the same even when we are in the middle of something new. Only God, the desire and an open heart will make us new.
If there are things in the old that are bothering us, they will accompany you to the new too, only the decision to change will bring the possibility of change.
Saying good bye to the old can be hard.
Though we know we need to let go of the old it doesn’t make it easy. I often time know for a long time that I need to let go and move into what God is telling me but I hold on asking for more reassurance of His will.
Delaying obedience is still disobedience.
Don’t ignore the loss.
Letting go of the old will be a loss. A loss of how you have always done it. A loss of how you have thought. Doing something new will be harder than you think.
The first step is always deciding. Not just thinking I know I should but really making a commitment to doing it different. Go before God. Hear His voice. Know He has something different for you. Obey.
After you have decided and made the commitment it will help to tell a friend. I always hate the vulnerability of accountability. I work hard for my yes to be yes so putting myself in a place of wanting to do something different but knowing it will be hard and maybe not being as committed to it as I should be always challenges me. If I doubt myself and my commitment at all bringing a friend along side is very helpful.
Now that you have made the commitment to the new, make a plan. What are the small steps you will take to change your path? Research is showing that attaching a new action to an old one brings us the most success. We don’t have to make the commitment to brush our teeth each day do we? It has become a habit. Adding something to the routine will help it to become a habit as well.
I am committing to a more disciplined organized prayer time this year. I have started the habit of listening to the Bible each morning while I get ready for my day. I will tack on praying for specific people and their needs at this time.
I have planned what it will look like. I have bought the calendar to write the requests down.
And tomorrow I will start!
The good news is if and when I fall down on my new habit God is good and I can start a new in His Mercies everyday!
Lamentations 3:21-23
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
NLT
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