New & Improved

On the eve of the last day of 2011, I can't help but reflect on this past year with wonder and amazement. 

One whole year of new is gone. 

For me, 2011 was filled with...

Stuff I'd never done before. 
Journeys I'd never taken before 
Friendships I'd never made before. 
Experiences I'd never had before. 
Feelings I'd never felt before. 
Lessons I'd never learned before. 
Joys I'd never known before.

But with another whole year of new on the horizon, I gaze ahead, holding my breath, anticipating the wonder and amazement to come. 

What new things lurk around the corner?  What new experiences await?  Only time will tell. 

In light of the new year, I am posting something I journaled last January, which I know is still pertinent today.  Maybe you can relate as well...

New and Improved

Sometime last year our family acquired a Wii game system from a family friend.  Because we had heard so much about it, we were eager to try this new thing out for ourselves.  My brother and sister-in-law, who also had one, were generous enough to let us borrow their Wii fit balance board and game to use with it.  Our family loved it.  We were able to play a variety of new things now, thanks to the addition to the gaming system. 

After Christmas, we returned my brother’s Wii fit items to him.  To be honest, we were a little sad.  We had gotten accustomed to their game and balance board.  My husband suggested we purchase our own Wii fit game and board.  Luckily, we found one at a local store, just like the previous one we had been using.  But their was one difference.  The words, "Wii Fit Plus" were written across the front of the box.

When we opened the package up at home, we realized we had in fact, purchased the new and improved version.  Not only did it have all the same games we had learned to play, but it also had so many more new, unexplored ones.  We were elated!  Suddenly, we were able to forget the former system and reap the benefits of the new one.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 
See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19

Similarities are found all around us as well.  I recall when the iPhone craze hit.  Countless people desired to purchase the newest phone out on the market.  Not too long after that, a new and improved version of the iPhone debuted.  People abandoned their previous phone for the new one.  It is the same with computers, cars, electronics and toys.  People are always seeking out the next new thing.

With the New Year quickly approaching, I cannot help but join the enthusiasm of others as we anticipate the promise and potential of what's ahead.  I look forward to many new experiences, new friendships, new joys, new accomplishments, and new revelations. 

On the flip side, I also understand that there will indefinitely be some new stresses, new heartaches, new struggles and even new trials.  

But I rejoice that I worship a God who revels in new things, too. 

Yes, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Yes, He is constant.  Yes, He stays the same. 

But, He always longs to transform the old into something new.  Actually, it is one of the things He does best.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 

God’s heart is to change each of His creations into something new and improved, something different than before, something fresh and original. 

He longs to give us a new life, a new name, a new heart and spirit, a new song in our mouths, and a new identity. 

He does this through a new covenant, a new and living way, through His death and our new birth. 

Then He gives us a new commandment to love one another as He has loved us. 

Each morning He pours out His new mercies on us. 

And one day, He will reign with all of us in a new heaven and on a new earth. 

What an incredible, new perspective on all the old ways of thinking and living. 

So, here’s to a very Happy New Year!

God, thank You that You are always doing a new thing.  Though You want us to remember and call to mind all of Your amazing past gestures in our lives, You do not want us to dwell there.  You want us to look forward and see the new thing You are doing now. 

I ask for a new work in my life today.  Help me not to be content to settle for the old revelations, old works, and even old victories in my life, because it’s what’s most familiar to me.  I look forward to all things being made new and improved by You.

He who was seated on the throne said,

“I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:5