HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I rarely post pictures of myself, but I couldn’t not post this one. My folks just recently relocated to Colorado Springs, so we have had more time together the past month than we have probably the past few years combined. It’s been fun! It’s also been a privilege to help them get to know the area and watch them experience Colorado (again) with new eyes (since they used to live here when I was a kid).
For New Years Eve day, Maia was flying out to see an old friend in Ohio. Given that I’d be that far north, I offered to take my folks with me and continue on to Boulder, so they could see yet one more new place. In spite of their concern of how cold it was (4 degrees) and a pending winter storm, we hopped in the car and headed out. After dropping Maia off at the airport, we headed to Lafayette to have lunch with… ummm…. my guy (gulp, yes, haven’t blogged about him, I know…. but that will have to be shared later!) The weather was getting slightly worse, but was still no match for this Chicago-grown girl and her trusty Volvo :-). Mom and I dropped Dad off at the house to watch the college football game (he was in heaven) and she and I headed into Boulder to trapse around Pearl Street Mall. It was GREAT!
So other than this being a bit about me sharing about time with my mom.. why do I mention it? Because watching my folks experience all this new stuff reminds me of what I’ve been stewing on for a while…. that is… the new start we get every year, even if we are in the same place as last year. I know, I know.. you have probably read enough about turning over a new leaf, starting new habits, or committing to ending bad ones. I’m not going there. Not really.
I do, however, tend to take stock of lessons I’ve learned in faith, and things I long to grow into in the new year. The past few weeks the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17 kept coming to mind, and so I took time the other day to look at it again.
“If anyone is in Christ, the old is gone, the new has come”
You have probably heard this before.
What you might not know, though, is that in the Greek, the word “new” is KAINOS. The clarification of “new” blows me away: “as respects to substance: a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, never heard of”
And I was also reminded of what my pastor in Illinois spoke of, that in the original language, “the new has come” isn’t really there. It’s more “if anyone is in Christ – new creation!”
In other words, something new, never seen before, steps onto the world stage in YOU, as you follow Christ and His path for you.
Think about that for a minute
We know that as we mature as people we grow – from life experiences, from things we are taught, things we pursue, hardships we endure, and good things we celebrate. But this? This brings a whole new side to consider.
What is happening in your life, as you bend and move and change and learn who you are FOR REAL… as you reflect mercy and grace and hope in the world – looks so unique on you in a way that the world hasn’t seen in the past.
I believe it isn’t something that happens just when you are captured by God’s love and forgiveness the first time. This happens over, and over, and over as we are re-created by every death, every birth, every sorrow, every joy as we walk this life.
You are still becoming something new, something never seen in this world. You have a place on the stage this year, and because God is always at work, I can promise you there will be things this coming year that will challenge you, change you, and make your life richer and deeper than you could have ever imagined.
So no matter how you start this year – with hard things you are facing, with uncertainty, or with exciting things to look forward to – I’d encourage you to pay attention.
This year’s YOU will still be-coming KAINOS.
Let it come!
Finding the Life 