You can make a new beginning
The calendar – what a marvelous idea! One year ends. A new year begins. I love it!
It offers us the opportunity to do two healthy things: let go of the past and make a new beginning.
How do you let go of the past? You discard stuff you don’t need so you can travel light. Life is more enjoyable when you travel light.
You lighten your load by disposing of guilt about your mistakes. You are not perfect; no one is. You make mistakes. You yield to temptation. Pride takes over and you fall. You say and do stupid things without thinking. That just proves you are a human being, not a robot. So admit you are human; ask God to forgive you. Accept his forgiveness and move on.
Oh, by the way, you may need to ask someone you have offended to forgive you. So get out of your recliner and do it. Don’t put it off any longer. The longer you wait, the heavier your load of guilt will get. Your load gets lighter every time you admit you were wrong. So ask for forgiveness, make amends where possible, and move on.
Yes, it’s true; not all broken relationships can be healed. You cannot “fix” every problem so give up trying to be the Great Fixer. That is why God offers us grace, the grace to accept his forgiveness, forgive others, forgive ourselves and move on — into a new beginning.
As the year closes, you can improve your health by identifying negative “luggage” and casting it aside. Excess baggage can be resentment toward someone who cheated you, anger toward someone who got what you thought you deserved, or hatred toward someone who hurt you. Such luggage will become so heavy it will break your back trying to carry it.
How do you cast it aside? Use Saint Paul’s formula. He told his Philippian friends he was going to “forget” the past and look to the future. Yes, I know; there are some things that seem impossible to forget. But that’s where God comes in; He has the power to set you free – if you follow His plan. And His plan is not complicated. He says, “Let go of the past; trust me, and I will set you free.”
So identify the things that are weighing you down. If it’s hard to let it go, ask the Lord to help you; He will be glad to assist you. He’s good at doing that. Then you can carry a lighter load into the new year.
Rain or shine, January first is a beautiful day because it gives you a new start. Life has a way of grinding us down. A new beginning helps you find new energy to face whatever the new year holds for you.
Grit your teeth, if you have to, and enjoy this day – the first day of a new beginning. Enjoy your family. Choose not to point out what’s wrong with everything they do. Follow the advice of Jesus: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Relax and affirm your worth as a child of God. He loves you just like you are — even though his plan is to make you more than you are today.
New beginnings are absolutely necessary. Marriages will not last without several new beginnings. Yours is no exception. Mine would have ended in chaos years ago had Dean and I not “started over” many times, forgiving one another just like God had forgiven us.
Fresh starts are necessary for friendships to survive. Stupid comments can rob us of the friendship of people we care about. Some of my friends have had to forgive me for saying something asinine. A real friend knows who you really are so true friends know that on occasion they must forgive you for those times when you speak before your brain is in gear.
Friendships remain alive when people are willing to forgive one another and start over. Those who expect perfection from themselves and others wind up with few friends. Only those who learn how to say, “Please forgive me, I was wrong” will have lasting marriages or friendships.
Fresh starts are necessary for spiritual growth. You need to care for your soul as well as your body so make a new start with spiritual disciplines. Be more diligent in worship and caring for the poor as well as prayer and Bible study. There is no substitute for a daily appointment with God, so decide on a time to be alone with God each morning.
Getting alone with God as the day begins can help you bury old wounds, lingering guilt and hurt feelings. Otherwise, the past will dog you to your grave. God alone can break the chains that hold you in bondage to the past.
How does God break those chains? Well, his help is conditional. He will only break those chains if you will stop regurgitating your hurts. Flush guilt down the drain. Be done with it. If the people you have offended will not forgive you, then forgive yourself and throw yourself a fresh start party. Ask the good Lord to help you live a better life the rest of the way home.
God delights in giving you a second chance – and a third and a fourth! Once you are willing to get over the stuff that enslaves you, you can move on. You can make a new start and nobody can rob you of the fun of celebrating your freedom from past pain, sin and failure.
God loves a good party, especially a party where his children are drinking the sweet wine of forgiveness and making a new start. So as January begins, ask him to help you make a new beginning. God delights in doing because he loves you!
