What do you think of when you hear these words?
A brand-new baby? Maybe a new pair of kicks? The beginning of each new day? A fresh coat of paint? That new car-smell? The changing of seasons? OutKast lyrics dancing in your head?
To me, one of the first things that comes to mind is a new house, a place to make a home. My family and I have moved quite a bit in the past seven years and I love me a new house. In fact, we have moved nine times. I have to admit, I enjoy newness, fresh beginnings.
Today I have been reading through some of my old journals. It’s amazing how old thoughts can bring new, fresh perspective. I looked back in October 2017 at an entry where I was enjoying the beach in Port Hueneme. I was walking along the shoreline, listening to the waves crash, my toes warm in the sand, searching for sand dollars. I have been to this particular stretch of beach many times as this was one of the moves we made in the past seven years. We lived 3 blocks from this beach. I have found at least one sand dollar EVERY single time I’ve searched, but not today. Not a trace of one.
See, sometimes we go to the place, the familiar place, where we find that thing, the thing we need. We think, if I can just get back to that place, that time, that memory, that routine, that feeling, I can find what I need, I can find myself, I can find that peace. Come to that place, but search for something new. You will find what you need, it just might not be what you expected. New, we need new. We need fresh.
Sometimes we go to these places that are so ordinary and familiar to us and they are made sacred. Moments happen that we cannot longer call mundane or routine or just because. They are imprinted on our hearts, they change us. Expect something new, something sacred in an ordinary moment, a familiar place. Beautiful things are coming. Fresh and new is upon us. Choose to see it, feel it, embrace it.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is!– Isaiah 43:19 (MSG)
This Scripture takes the pressure off of us. We don’t have to work so hard at trying to find what we need, or what we think we need. He gives us simple instructions: Be Alert and Be Present.
We have an opportunity right now, today. It’s a fresh month, a new season. Let’s be present in our ordinary moments and make them sacred.