“Remember not the events of the past,

Isaiah 43:18-19

the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new!"

This beautiful description of God’s mercy and call to new life is so relevant for every day of our lives.  Something new sounds so fun and inviting.  Yet embracing something new requires CHANGE – that big, scary word that sets fear in many people’s hearts.  Life is filled with change – in our families as children grow and parents, siblings, and friends age, and in our workplaces, churches, communities, and world as new leadership and visions emerge.  Through all the changes, big and small,  God calls us to leave behind our past. 

While our past life journeys indeed help to form who we are today, we are not to cling to the way things were, routines, practices, places, or even people.  But rather we are called to be fully open to God’s new life each day, allowing ourselves to grow and be transformed into new creations.  And that is a challenge because as humans we seek those routines and familiar patterns of life to provide comfort and peace of mind. 

While this peace of mind is true on some level, at a deeper level it is only through letting go that we find deep peace.  Letting go of all the many things we cannot control anyway – what people think, how people act, what is decided politically or by workplace leadership, our aging bodies, death itself.  When faced with these uncontrollable situations, how much more productive would our time be spent looking at how God is molding, shaping, and transforming us through these changes? How might our stress level be reduced by wondering and seeking what good God is bringing from every situation, instead of railing against it or trying to rein it in.   

There is a trusting hopefulness in this stance.  One that trusts in God who knows us better than we know ourselves, loves us more than any human being could ever love us, and who is always seeking what is best for us, even if that journey might be painful or difficult for a season. 

Change happens all the time and out of that change comes new life.  We can fight that or embrace it.  It is a choice we must make every day, every hour, and every minute. Embrace the journey!