Welcome 2021!
Would you look at that….2021 is finally here! Is it any different? I sure hope so! At this moment, it may look just the same, but let’s dig a little deeper…
We had a bit of a challenging year in 2020. What we thought was going to bring great vision, brought a whole new look at life for all of us! Some of it was very eye opening. Some of it was sad and a bit frustrating at times, but all in all, it was a time to reflect on what was most important to us. New ways to communicate became the norm and I believe many learned a new appreciation for home school parents!
It all came down to change. And now we are in the beginnings of the changing of a New Year. New beginnings…God is a God of new beginnings and second chances. He isn’t the cause of bad things happening, He is the restorer of the good that comes out of the bad! He brings new life to dead things and causes the winter to turn into spring!
Time and time again, God, our heavenly Father, gets the rap for things He didn’t do. Most often the things that happen are due to something man (or woman) has done himself. Starting in the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, (yes, it really existed), Eve listened to the snake (satan), Adam listened to Eve, even though he knew what God had said and did tell Eve prior to the snake wiggling his way into her brain that to eat the fruit was not good, however, curiosity killed the cat so to speak and BOOM! The sin of the world began. Again, God came in, dressed them up and though they had to leave the beautiful garden, He still provided for them. New beginnings.
Today, we still struggle against that flesh nature, we still come against the temptations and the trials of life that seem to overwhelm us, and even still we can get through them IF we only will reach out from behind the bush and ask our Father to help us simply by recognizing the One that was sent to rescue us, Jesus. New beginnings happen just by opening your heart and receiving the gift of love sent for all of us. It doesn’t matter if you ‘ate the apple’, it doesn’t matter what you have done or how worthless you think you are…God doesn’t see you that way, He sees the person He created and is just waiting for you to get reconnected to Him. For example, there is a story in the Bible that talks about a son who wanted his inheritance early, so his dad gave it to him. He went out and blew all the money on gambling, women, partying, you name it, he did it. Then the money ran out and he found himself working as a servant in a pigsty! He had nothing and was even eating the pig slop to stay alive! One day, he decided to go back to his father and offer to work for him as a servant. Well, all along, the father had been going on top of the hill to look for his son every day! When he saw the son coming, he ran to him and embraced him! Put a robe and shoes on him and gave him the family insignia ring! The son said, “Father, I have done wrong and wasted all that you gave me! I don’t deserve all of this, I have come home to work for you and repay all, please forgive me!” The father said, “You are my Son and I have been waiting for you to come home! Let us celebrate for the son I had lost has now come home!”
That is how God is with us…He is waiting and watching for us to come home and nothing matters except that we are home. His immeasurable love will cover the insurmountable sin!! Here is your chance for new beginnings. This is your moment to begin a new year with a fresh start and it is so simple that all you need do is simply say, “Jesus, I have made a mess of things and am done trying to get out of the mess myself, please forgive me. I receive your forgiveness and will go forward with you, leaving all the mess behind me.” Amen. Now if you prayed that prayer, please reach out to us! graceme.mg@gmail.com
Stay warm!!
Mary G.
