Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year

"I am about to do a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19 (NRSV)
 
I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. My normal response on a rainy morning when I don't have to go to work would be to roll over, pull the cover over my head and return to blissful sleep.  However, this morning I was compelled to lie there and just listen to the raindrops.  While the rain fell, I thought there could be no better time to commune with God than now.  I began to meditate on the past, the good and the bad, and started to thank God for being present in every moment.  I contemplated on my spiritual state and felt the need draw closer to God. I had a strong desire to know God in a deeper sense. I wanted to know God in a new way.  Listening to the rain this morning resulted in a transformative moment that I feel I will result in eternal gratitude. As the rain fell, I imagined it cleansing me...it was purifying the pollutants. I allowed myself to become the embodiment of this process.  I inhaled positivity and exhaled negativity. I inhaled joy and exhaled sadness. I inhaled peace and exhaled confusion. In essence, I inhaled grace (the presence of God) and exhaled garbage (everything that stands in opposition to divinity and who I am in that space).
 
I am not big on resolutions, but I do know that when one receives revelation from God the gates of hell cannot prevail!!! When God speaks, the diligent and hungry hearer indeed has a resolve to see the spoken word manifest. My experience this morning has created a sense of expectation different from any time before. I do indeed feel like a new creation and I'm glad about it!!!!  This does not mean that I believe there will be no difficult times ahead, living life has taught me better.  However, it does mean that I'm confident that when those moments arise, God will be present to see me through. I believe God will give me/has given me the stuff needed to get through the stuff not wanted. God will not do for us what we are capable/able to do for ourselves. God specializes in doing the impossible.  For where and when we fall short, God stands to make up the difference. So when I come to time when I have to do the hard thing like closing a door on a relationship/circumstance that I may not want to, I have to look at the bigger picture.  When I am faced with doing the hard work to create a better future, I need to be willing to sacrifice in the short term for the long term benefit.  Perhaps that's another way to examine what Paul means by "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure".  (2 Cor 4:17)
 
My excitement is not based on any trite cliche that rhymes with the year, (I'm going to win in 2010...couldn't think of anything that rhymed with 2013 off the top of my head), but rather it is simply based on what I know about God. I know the God who creates new mercies morning by morning. I am expecting THE NEW.  I am becoming THE NEW. Do yourself a favor and sing a new song, dance a new dance, visit a new place... These things don't have to have the same pedestrian meaning, but you can really create a new profound meaning for yourself.
 
Happy New Year!!! Happy New Me!!! Happy New You!!!
 
 
Abounding in Love and Growing in Grace!!!!
 
 
Veronica