“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJ 2000 Version)

Happy New Year!! I love a new beginning! That moment when you crack the spine of a brand new book, the joy and sweet smell of a newborn baby still all tiny and wrinkly, a brand new box of crayons — still pristine, with sharpened points ready for creating! There is just something about a clean slate that gives us hope. It is exactly what this verse is telling us… our past person is no longer… God has made us new and improved! Full of potential and hope!

Many of you know that I like to dabble in crafting and have been a big scrapbooker for many years. My scrapping friends like to tease me, because after I finish a page (or layout, as the proper term is…) I tend to tidy up my space before I begin the next one… it’s kind of a funny quirk I have… perhaps it is because I am used to working in a small craft space and need to give myself some room. Maybe I just like to start fresh. To get the creative juices flowing again. To begin with a clean slate. The first day of school is like that for me too. New teachers, new grade, new school supplies. It’s a chance to start, again, with new possibilities for learning, new friendships to develop, new skills to learn and master. That new box of crayons!

And so, as we enter in to a new year, I am again reminded of all things “new”. I look back and reflect to a time when I was younger and tried to keep up with the newest trends and fashion. Truth be told, part of me still succumbs to that drive for perfection… but I have a new goal for 2019… to try and live simply. To let “stuff” go a little, to use less, to be less consumed by the pettiness of this world. Even that has become trendy though… and the new and improved lifestyles of the younger generation is one of minimalist living. We easily fall into the trap of judging others based on how they choose their lifestyles. It’s a complicated world, isn’t it?

When I was much younger, 2 Corinthians 5:17 was a verse that a very wise Sunday school teacher made us memorize. I was (and still am) terrible at memorizing, so I had to say it over and over again. The verse’s message is simple and yet so profound. We became completely new in Christ when we gave our lives to Him. That is the hope that we have for new beginnings. That is that fresh new baby in the manger smell (okay maybe not that smell…) It’s that blank slate that cleanses us of the past. It allows us the freedom to simply be a child again; to put away the old things that tend to crush our spirits, that make us heavy with the burdens of adulthood, that weigh us down.

Perhaps this last year has been a difficult one for you. Perhaps you have suffered loss and pain and heartache. Perhaps you simply want a clean slate with less “bad” and more “good”. That’s the thing about the new box of crayons… sometimes you gotta ruin that beautiful pristine point to get all the beautiful colours down on paper.

So… as we begin a new year of muses together, rejoice in the hope we have for that new beginning, the one that makes us new creations in Christ. The old has gone, the new has come… the clean slate is ready and you have a brand new box of crayons….happy colouring!!