New and Improved.

Since the New Year has begun, I have been meditating on the word “New”. Not in a weird yoga way- no worries- but in a new way, in a “forgetting the old, on to the new” type of way. I am a person who truly cherishes memorabilia; my memories are treasures to me. I cherish experiences that molded me, challenged me, and fancied me. I love the people I have been privileged to know and be a part of their journey, but just like anything else... New is almost irrelevant. Meaning, New is constant; there is always something new happening, new advancements, etc. New journeys excite me and scare me.

I’ve been forced to embrace this new season that I’m in. I love it, I fear it, and I am SO incredibly thankful for it! Specifically, I am thankful for being made NEW. That His (God’s) mercies are new EVERY morning! Ponder that; let that sink down to your soul. I am one perfect mess. I cry, I lie, I fail, I envy, I am human…that desperately needs a new chance every day, and sometimes every hour. But behold, He is doing a NEW work in me and YOU. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Many times when something new approaches, something ends- or something is added! Either or, there are several emotions that one must navigate, I love how Isaiah 43:19 puts it, “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.” Like I mentioned before, It is easy for me to hold on to what is old, and to distract myself from the fear of the new with what's old and familiar. Nonetheless, God is still doing something new in me, through me, for me! Can’t I see? Can’t you see… your life is still moving forward whether you’re ready for it or not- It springs up and many times out of nowhere, but take great comfort- God is faithful and God is clever… He desires us to trust him, to love him, to seek him before anything. Even in our midst, he still shows us His goodness.

We are like a plant. The same “plant” in every season, yet in every season we weather differently and bloom differently. We are never the exact flower as we once were. We are still as beautiful as ever, just new and improved within every new season.