Revelation 21:5 And the one on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."
There are times when new is necessary. At the end of the year a new year arrives, in the deep darkness of the end of the day a new day is dawning, in the depths of winter a new spring is waiting to bloom. As this year changed from 2014 to 2015, it brought with it great newness for my family. I took a new job, my wife was called as a new pastor, and we moved to a new house. In this whirlwind of newness and change, I could only smile a big smile and think how much we needed this change, this newness.
And now, after a couple of months have passed and the dust has begun to settle I can see clearly that new, however much it might be needed, is terrifyingly difficult.
It's terrifying and difficult because being new means that we aren't used to it, that we haven't done it before, and that sometimes we don't even know what to do. New is driving ten miles out of your way because that freeway doesn't actually connect to this one. New is spending half an hour waiting for a meeting in the wrong room. New is accidentally taking the express bus and ending up way past your stop. New is spending an hour figuring out a tax document that someone else already did for you. New is introducing yourself to someone who you forgot was in your interview and helped hire you. New is awkward and embarrassing and hard.
Nobody likes to be the new kid, to start the new job, to be in the new place- because its impossible to do "new" right. New is uncomfortable, it's guesswork, it's trying and failing and having to try again.
But, God is making all things new.
God is leaning into this newness, meeting us in this newness, pushing us into this newness. Because there is something magical in the newness, in the moment of trying, in the difficulty. Because in the new times, we remember that we are fragile creatures who don't know what we're doing and also that we are far stronger than we imagined as we do things we didn't know we could.
Jesus talks about how "no one puts new wine into old wineskins...one puts new wine into new wineskins" (Mark 2:22). As we do new things and stretch ourselves with each awkward and time-consuming task, we become new ourselves. We are made new.
As I continue to grow into this new time, I can only pray that when faced with newness we may have patience with ourselves and allow God to make us anew.
Blessings, G
