Friends
Are you someone who hangs onto things until they are thoroughly worn out before you replace them? I’m afraid that I am guilty as charged. I am learning that there are times when it’s good to embrace something new. How about you?
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“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:19 – NIV
Maybe it’s those Scots-Irish roots, but my husband Eric and I tend to hang onto things until they are done. I mean, really done. He always says he likes to get the maximum use out of everything. You should see the size of some of the holes in his “work” t-shirts! Sometimes I just have to insist that he toss them, and even then, they end up as shop rags!
I can point fingers, but I am just as bad. I have needed to replace our king size sheets for probably a year. I am ashamed to say that the pillowcase seams were about threadbare, and still I procrastinated. Would I ever find a set that I liked as well? Finally, when the fitted sheet ripped under Eric’s toes, he started on-line shopping. He found some USA-Made sheets that are amazingly comfortable. They are so good that I hate to rise from my bed each morning! Why did I wait so long to replace what was in tatters?
Then there was the Roomba. Yes, Reggie had to be retired! Many of you may remember my affectionate series of blog posts about my infatuation with the Roomba that I nicknamed “Reggie.” That little cleaning machine has been taking care of our floors since 2016, and doing a masterful job. Kind of like us, the years of hard work finally just wore him down, and in December, I had to move him to a retirement facility on our sunporch. He still makes a circuit around that room once a week, leaving him plenty of time to rest and recover.
In Reggie’s place, we welcomed “R-2” into our household, named after the precoscious little robot of our favorite movie, “Star Wars,” and carrying the double meaning of “Reggie-2.” R-2 is an incredible upgrade, quieter with more programming options, yet still cleaning my floors with vigor and precision. When he finishes his rounds, he even empties his collected debris into his own trash bin. How cool is that?
The truth is that Reggie had been having issues for more than a year, but I had put off replacing him, following my own tendency to hang onto the old instead of embracing the new. Am I the only one that does that? Perhaps I am unique in my reluctance to replace old equipment, but I bet I am not alone in some spiritual foot-dragging.
Over the past month, I have stumbled upon a number of scriptures about renewal and transformation. It turns out that God’s Word has a lot to say about the spiritual value of discarding the old and welcoming the “new.”
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:9-10, NIV).
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2, NLT).
“Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:23-24, NLT).
Friends, God desires to transform us from the inside out. He wants to bring us new life, not just the promise of the hereafter, but new life for the present day, new life in our daily walk with Him. He wants to develop our trust muscles so we can experience peace even in the midst of our problems. He wants us to know joy, not the shallow earthly imitation of happiness, but the deep, rich joy of a life lived in Him. Jesus came that we might have new life, and that we would have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
We can’t welcome the “new” until we are willing to let go of the old. Our old things, our old ways, they are comfortable, but they are not always what is best for us. Is there something you need to let go of today? Are yu hanging onto old habits that need to be discarded? Are old hurts, disappointments, or mistakes holding you back from a fresh start? Is it time to leave the old behind and step forward into something new, something good, something true that The lord is offering you?
Sometimes it’s hard to embrace the new, but when we finally do, we wonder whyit took us so long. I thought that this morning as I snuggled into my comfy sheets. I think about it when my mind falls pray to fear instead of trust. I am still a work in progress, but I’m trying to make that progress. I still need to do something about my torn bedroom slippers and my worn-out 9×13 metal pans, but like my spiritual growth, I know I will get there with The Lord’s help. In this new year,will you join me in letting go of the old and embracing the new?
PRAYER
O Good and Gracious God, how patient You are when we drag our feet and avoid the new growth You desire for us. Like the loving Father You are, You keep on working with us, continuing to call us to new things, always seeking the renewing of our minds and the transformation of our lives. Create in us a clean heart and a right spirit that embraces the good things You have in store for those who love You. Let us be transformed into a better version of ourselves, so we can become an instrument of thy peace for Your glory.
In the Holy Name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen
New Year’s Blessings,
Anita
-APS 1/29/2024
Faith Beyond Sight 