Making All Things New

I love a new beginning.  A clean slate. A blank canvas. You get the idea.  Last January was the mother of all new years for me.  I got a new state, a new house, a new church, a new life.  For a whole year, everything was the start of something new.  

A Slow Normal

This January is different.  Thankfully.  There is still the hope of a new year and with twelve months of data behind me I've got plenty of analysis to do.  But much will stay the same.  

I expected that such a dramatic transition would naturally produce dramatic growth.  I still believe it will.  But now I know that much of the growth comes later.  At least for me. 

Living in a perpetual state of discovery can wear a body down.  Sure, it's exciting and fresh, but the real transformation occurs slowly in the stillness and the routine.  In the persevering and the missteps and the loneliness and the adapting.  

Looking back at 2012, I am encouraged by all that is new.  But I'm even more excited about the 'new' that is to come.  Not in the change of  scenery, but in the depths of my soul. 

Photo Credit:  Duncan

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What Road to Take

Now that much of life is established routine again, I have room to dream and plan and listen.  Over the next month I'll spend time in reflection and confession and listening.  And then I'll need to take some action.  For some time now, I've begun each year prayerfully considering the following three questions:

1. What do I know God desires for me to do? (I realize it's presumptuous to speak with certainty about knowing God's desire, but it's more of a relative sense.  These are usually areas that have been affirmed by others, are commitments I've made or that have been clear directives from my time with God)
2. What do I think/sense God desires for me to do? (These are areas where I have less certainty and/or definition.  For example, this year, this includes volunteering at a shelter for pregnant homeless women.  I know God's desire is for me to care for the marginalized, but I don't have clarity around the details.)
3. What do I hope God desires for me to do? (This is where I let myself dream.  I'm not telling God anything He doesn't already know, but I'm allowing myself to name my desires and allow him to shape me through them.)
   
   

There are no guarantees.  Some years turn out very differently than I planned in January.  But every year I'm able to see God's hand in faithfully leading me and continuing his redemptive work of making all things new.  

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Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” 

How about you?  Do you take any time to reflect in January?  Do you have any deep desires for the new year?