Fresh Beginnings

Spring is a beautiful time of year when we see things that have been dead begin to show signs of life. The grass is green. The daffodils are beginning to bloom. The robins have returned and the children are playing outside, even though the temperatures are still a bit chilly. Spring cleaning has begun everywhere, inside and outside.

What does spring look like at your house? Are there things that need new life breathed into them? I have tackled a pile of clothes that needed to be mended. Dana is working on building in the new (1982ish) oven that is replacing the old one that finally died (1944ish). The craft corner has turned into a pile of rubble that prevents any creativity from taking place, so it is next on the radar.

New beginnings are a beautiful thing. In many areas of our lives we need to get rid of the things that are not providing value, not inspiring growth, not serving the purpose for you that they could for someone else. Likewise there are things we cling to that have lost value because they are not working as they were intended to work. Hanging on to things “just because” leads to the kind of clutter that keeps us from having the things that we truly need.

This is not just true of material things, but it also happens in our hearts.  Our relationships often suffer because we hold on to the old when we need to get rid of it. Old grievances; old memories of being hurt; old failures we still cling to.  As long as we harbor these things, we will not make room for the beautiful new life that God desires to bring into our homes.  Maybe it's time for a new beginning in your heart that will bring hope of a brighter future.

I would encourage you to take a good look in two areas of your world to do some housekeeping. One, your time... how is it being spent? I recently heard a young mother say that she was fasting from social media and when she would normally have picked up her phone to see what's happening in the lives of her friends, instead she would pick up her Bible or read a devotional. In the course of a week she was amazed at how much she had time to read and how much better and closer to God she felt. Take a look at what you can eliminate in order to find the time to know God better.

Two, your thoughts. The things we think... that we dwell on... often begin to create the feelings that drag us down and eventually end up as actions. When we are hurt, we tend to wallow around in self-pity. When we are offended, we put up walls. When we are falsely accused we harbor hatred. When we are envious, we sulk and stew. When we are confronted, we strike back.  When we think we are right, we stop listening to other ideas.

What if we would let go of the things that have been said about us or against us? What if we stopped thinking as the world thinks and instead allowed God to transform us by changing the way we think? What if we let things roll off our back and maybe even chuckle about the silliness of what would have angered us, back in the day? What if we just "let it go?"

My parents just celebrated their 63^rd wedding anniversary. If you ask my dad the secret to a long marriage, he will tell you, “You have to have a good forgetter. If something is said to you or about you that is negative, forget it! You are not really that bad.  If someone flatters you, forget that too, because you aren’t really that good. Just forget the things that pump you up or tear you down and be content to be the best person you can be today and a little bit better tomorrow.”

I would say that is pretty good advice for making a fresh new life this spring. Have your “forgetter” overhauled so that you can focus on being the new creation God wants you to be. Give your schedule a fresh coat of paint and push aside whatever is distracting you from growing closer to God and watch your family benefit from the change in you!

Happy April!  Even if it is snowing...