‘Always we begin again.‘(St. Benedict)
The days are shorter. The sun has faded & the air is cooler. Summer is over & routine has resumed:
Uniforms & packed lunches.
Pickups & homework.
I’m enjoying perhaps my last al fresco coffee- the mellow moments interrupted by pesky wasps.
Gretchen Rubin in her book ‘Happiness at home’ states that September is the new January – another chance at a new start.
It can be a time to re-engage with nearly forgotten resolutions. We can reassess our habits & routine & readjust our schedule to a healthier direction.
‘The decisions we make determines the schedule we live’ (Lisa Terkheurst)
But sometimes we need more than a new start, deeper work than a new routine.
We need to come to God, the Author of life to breathe new life into us.
‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
‘Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.’ (2 Cor 5:17 MSG)
We turn to God for forgiveness when we first realise our deep need for Him to deal with our sinful nature. But we need to keep returning to Him as we keep falling down & messing up. Every day can be a fresh start when we pray:
‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.'(PSALM 51:10 NIV)
{As I read that verse, I automatically hear Keith Green singing it in my head!}
‘God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.’ (Psa 51:10 MSG)
In the chaos & tangles of everyday life we can find the strength & courage to begin again in God:
God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways;
I don’t take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
(Psa 18 :20-24 MSG)
So,
‘Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.'(Isa 43:16 MSG)
‘You can’t go back & change the beginning, but you can start where you are & change the ending’ (CS Lewis)
‘My past is full of Grace
My future is full of hope
My day is full of possibility’
(Holley Gerth)
‘He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.’ (Eph 2:10-MSG)
‘Yesterday is gone
Tomorrow has not yet come
We only have today
Let us begin’
(Mother Theresa)
Blessings,
Ruth x
Blessed! 