Barb Roberts | Author, With Her Last Breath | Speaker, Author, Counselor

“God is a God of new beginnings…” you’ve heard me say that before. I have not written a blog for way too long – in fact, when I looked at the date of my last writing, I couldn’t believe it had been that long. To say that time has gotten away from me is a true statement and yet, I feel like the timing is good for me to begin again.

New year; new beginning. Right? There are many things that begin anew in a new year – new taxes, new calendar, new semester in school, new weight loss program, new resolutions, new classes, opportunity for a fresh start. It’s the time of year we begin thinking of cleaning house – out with the old; in with the new. In fact, I am a proponent of “When in doubt, throw it out!”

Though pre-holiday time is one when many struggle with loneliness and depression (thinking they will yet again go through a very lonely holiday season), post-holiday time can also be one of struggle, particularly as we head into spring. The New Year and promise of spring is supposed to be a time of newness and possibilities – new growth, birds singing, bulbs sprouting. BUT … what if everything appears the same in your life –

You are STILL out of work
Singleness is STILL an issue you struggle with
Your husband told you during the holidays that he did not want to be married to you anymore
You and your wife made it through another holiday, barely holding it together without fighting in front of the kids
You are STILL holding on to the anger you felt before the turn of the calendar year
Your teenage son is STILL rebellious
Your hearing is STILL diminishing
The hip replacement surgery is STILL looming
You STILL have to help your aging parent see that they need to move out of their home
You are STILL struggling with infertility
Finances are STILL tight – in fact, the situation is worse because you charged Christmas gifts to your credit card

It is into this life that Jesus came - for you and for me. He came to make all things new … not to take us out of our difficulties and joblessness and pain and suffering … but in the midst of those things that are STILL happening in our lives, to give us a new beginning WHILE in the midst of it all. Right here, right now!

He wants to give us fresh eyes, an alternative perspective in our recognition that He is with us; that He will never leave us nor forsake us; that “In this world you WILL have suffering; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” He wants us to understand that He is a redeeming God and can bring wholeness and newness out of broken pieces. I definitely don’t have it all figured out. I struggle, too. I deal with disappointments as well. I definitely don’t always understand God’s ways. I hurt like you, but I am confident of this -- “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies are new every morning, Great is His faithfulness.” God is a God of new beginnings!